Family Collection
by cleotheo
Summary: A collection of Dramione themed family moments. Each chapter is a new moment, in a different universe. Fun and fluff with Dramione and their family.
1. Puddle Jumping

**A/N – This is the second of the four open ended collections I will be posting. The collections will feature small snippet style chapters, all from different universes. Some of these chapters could quite possibly feature (in some form or another) in longer stories at later points. But right now, I either don't have a story for them, I don't have a complete story idea for them, or the story I envision them in isn't even close to been wrote.**

 **Any ideas are welcome, although I can't guarantee using them or even writing them any time soon. Apart from a couple of stories which have my main focus (At the minute COTD, and a longer war based drama) I just have to write what's in my mind at the time. I'm also interested to hear which collection pieces people are eager to read more about.**

 **Since the collections are ongoing, there will be no publishing schedule. I write these collection pieces when something enters my head, or I'm looking for something short and sweet and consult my notebooks. As such, after I've published the first chapters in this collection there might be months in between updates. But whenever I write a new collection piece for this story, I'll get it published as quickly as possible.**

 **This collection is for my family based stories. All the pieces in this collection feature the Malfoys as a family, either when they have children or in some cases, preparing to have children. This first piece – Puddle Jumping – is set in a universe with no war. It's just a light, fluffy Dramione family moment.**

* * *

 **Puddle Jumping.**

It was a mild autumn day as Hermione Malfoy prepared to get her two children ready for a walk through the local park. It was a Sunday afternoon, and that meant family time for Hermione, her husband Draco, and their two children, four year old Scorpius and nine month old Cassiopeia. At the beginning of the year Hermione and Draco had decided to try and make sure they took a walk through the park they lived nearby at least once a week. When it was colder, the trips were a brisk walk through the park, but on warm summer days they'd spent hours in the beautiful park with their children. Even though it wasn't an overly warm day they were preparing to head out into, it was still nice enough for a quick stroll in the park. Besides, autumn was Hermione's favourite season as the leaves started to fall from the trees and the air took a slightly cooler turn.

"Mummy, can we bring Scout?" Scorpius asked as Hermione announced it was time to wrap up for their walk.

Scout was Scorpius's puppy, a gorgeous black Labrador, which the family had adopted a few months earlier after Scorpius had spent months begging for a pet. Hermione and Draco had settled on a dog as it could accompany them on their walks. Scout had already become a much loved member of the family, and he was already sitting by the front door waiting to head out for a walk.

"Of course we're taking Scout," Draco said, as he picked Cassiopeia up out of her bouncy chair.

While Draco got Cassiopeia dressed in her coat, hat, gloves and scarf, Hermione tried to wrestle Scorpius into his outdoor gear. However, unlike his sister who didn't cause any trouble, Scorpius wasn't keen on having to get wrapped up. If he had his way, he would head outside as he was, in his jumper, trousers and batman slippers.

"Put your wellies on," Hermione told her son. "It's been raining so there might be puddles."

"Puddles I can jump in?" Scorpius asked excitedly.

"You don't jump in puddles, Scorpius," Hermione said sternly as she pulled her son's bright red wellies onto his feet. "You'd get wet."

"But it would be fun," Scorpius said with a giggle.

"It would be messy," Hermione muttered. Standing up she grabbed Scorpius's jacket off the coat rack and pulled his hat, scarf and gloves from one of the pockets. "Coat now, Scorp."

"But I don't want to wear a coat," Scorpius pouted. "Batman never wears a coat."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her son's obsession with muggle superheroes, especially batman. Her father had been the one to introduce Scorpius to the various muggle superheroes and now the four year old couldn't get enough of them. Even his precious quidditch took second place to Batman and the other superheroes he worshipped.

"But Batman is a superhero," Hermione pointed out. "I'm sure he wore a coat when he was a little boy."

Scorpius let out a resigned sigh as he let his mother pull his coat on. "Can I be a superhero when I grow up?" He asked seriously, letting Hermione wrap his scarf around his neck.

"And what would your powers be?" Hermione asked with an amused chuckle, amazed by her son's imagination. "And what would you be called?"

"I can be Super Scorp," Scorpius announced as he jumped into a superhero pose. "I'd fly faster then anything on my broom, and catch the bad guys."

"Sounds like a plan," Hermione replied, tugging Scorpius's hat over his head and slipping his hands into his gloves. "But you'll have to be good. Superheroes are very good people."

"I can be good," Scorpius vowed, nodding solemnly as Draco came out of the front room with Cassiopeia all wrapped up and tucked into her pushchair, ready to be off.

"What's all this?" Draco asked as he and Hermione pulled on their coats. He'd heard part of the conversation his wife and son had been having, but he'd been busy with his daughter and hadn't heard everything.

"Scorpius wants to be a superhero," Hermione told her husband.

"What? The world's smallest one?" Draco asked with a chuckle.

"Not now," Scorpius said, shaking his head at his father. "When I grow up."

"I see," Draco said with a nod as Hermione made sure Scout was on his lead and opened the door for the family to begin to head outside. "And what would you be called?"

Hermione took over pushing Cassiopeia as Scorpius and Draco walked on in front of her with Scout. As they went, Scorpius explained to his father what sort of superhero he wanted to be. The talk continued all the way to the park, with Scorpius continually practising his superhero poses. He was also eager to find himself an outfit to wear, something green as it was his favourite colour.

The park they visited was a large muggle park, consisting of winding paths, leading to various bits of activities. There were two children's play areas, although with the recent rain Hermione wasn't keen on Scorpius playing on either. Then there was picnic areas and lots of grass for people to relax on and play games on in the warmer weather, which again Hermione didn't want to use with the weather. There was also a lake, where ducks and swans lived, so Hermione suggested they head over to the lake. Beside the lake there was a small stall which sold bags of bird feed, so she figured they could buy some feed and feed the ducks and swans.

As usual, the stall was open so Hermione purchased a bag of bird feed and handed it to her son. Draco accompanied Scorpius to the edge of the lake so he could feed the ducks and swans, while Hermione stayed further back with Cassiopeia and Scout. Cassiopeia also liked the birds and she clapped happily as they swam up to where Scorpius was throwing bird feed into the water. Luckily Scout was good dog, and he just sat happily next to Cassiopeia's pushchair as he waited for Scorpius and Draco to finish with the ducks and swans.

When the bag of bird food was gone, Scorpius said goodbye to the birds and promised to be back to feed them soon. Since the family weren't quite ready to go home just yet, Draco suggested they walk through to the far end of the park and come back round via the pathway that ran through a few trees.

As they walked, Scorpius ran on ahead, although not far enough so that Draco and Hermione couldn't reach him in an instant if they needed to. Draco meanwhile dropped back to walk alongside his wife, with Hermione pushing Cassiopeia in her pushchair and him taking control of Scout's lead.

"Look, a puddle," Scorpius cried in excitement, pointing to a large patch of water on the ground.

Before Hermione had a chance to say anything, Draco had handed the dog lead to her and had rushed over to the puddle. Taking hold of Scorpius's hand, he gave his son a wicked grin and the pair jumped feet first into the water, sending the water splashing everywhere.

"Draco Malfoy," Hermione scolded as Cassiopeia laughed happily at the antics of her father and brother. "Stop acting like a big kid."

"But puddle jumping is fun," Draco said with a fake pout. "I used to do it all the time when I was younger."

"I bet you did," Hermione muttered. "And have you thought about how messy you and Scorp are going to get? I bet the pair of you are soaked now."

"Just a bit," Draco responded with a shrug. "But since we're already wet, we might as well continue to puddle jump. What do you say, Scorp?"

"Yeah," Scorpius cried, rushing over to a smaller puddle and jumping into it.

Hermione couldn't help but smile as Scorpius giggled in excitement as the water splashed up as he jumped into the puddle. "Okay then, you two have fun."

"Come on Scorp, let's see who can jump in more puddles," Draco urged, as he hopped into a small puddle.

For the next ten minutes the two Malfoys had a whale of a time puddle jumping. Sometimes they both jumped together, and sometimes they went separately, seeing who could create the biggest splash. With the puddle jumping the trip round the park took longer than Hermione expected, but soon the park gates had come into view.

"Okay boys, one more puddle," Hermione called. "Than we're going to go home and get cleaned up."

"Fine," Draco replied as Scorpius began to pout. "Look Scorp, two last puddles. Do you want the big one, or the very big one?"

"The very big one," Scorpius replied with a grin, spotting the two puddles his father was talking about.

"You go first," Draco said. "Make a big splash."

Seeing how large the puddle Scorpius was going to jump into was, Hermione took a step back with Cassiopeia and Scout. Even though Scorpius was only four, he was jumping with some force and she suspected her husband was going to use magic to ensure her son ended with a big splash. Sure enough when Scorpius jumped into the puddle her husband used a bit of wand-less magic to make the water go everywhere.

"Go me," Scorpius cheered as he wiped water from his face. "Did you see the splash, Mum? It was awesome."

"It was something special," Hermione agreed as Scorpius ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Now let's see what your Dad can do."

"Stand back folks, this is going to be big," Draco said, grinning at his family as he walked over to the slightly smaller puddle off the side of the pathway.

Hermione braced herself for the splash as Draco prepared to jump. Draco shot one last smirk over at his family before jumping into the puddle, expecting to make a big splash. What he didn't expect was to jump directly into a hole and end up waist deep in dirty water. His smug smirk quickly disappeared and was replaced with a cry of total shock as he found himself half submerged in the cold water.

"Draco, are you okay?" Hermione asked, hurrying over to her husband, a smirk playing around on her face.

She couldn't believe her eyes when she'd seen Draco disappear into the water, and her first reaction had been one of panic, but now she could see Draco was fine, she was starting to see the funny side. After all, it was pretty hilarious that her husband had landed up waist deep in water while jumping in puddles with their four year old son.

"Dad, that was so cool," Scorpius cried. "Will you do it again?"

"I don't think so, Scorp," Draco muttered as he hauled himself up out of the hole. "Damn hole."

"That will teach you to puddle jump," Hermione said with a laugh. "You're twenty five, not five."

"I didn't know it was a bloody hole," Draco grumbled. "I thought it was a normal puddle."

"It'll teach you not to dive into things without checking," Hermione said. "But now I really think it's time we went home."

"I quite agree," Draco said, shaking his head as he looked down at his completely soaked bottom half. "And Scorp, I think you're the puddle jumping champion."

"No, you won," Scorpius said with a shake of his head. "That was a big splash, and it was very funny. You win, Dad."

"What exactly do I win?" Draco asked as the family set off towards the park gates.

"Clean clothes," Hermione joked.

"How about a helping hand getting into my clothes?" Draco asked, wiggling his eyebrows at his wife as he took the dog lead from her hands.

"How about a hand getting out of your clothes later on," Hermione countered. "Followed by a check over from your favourite nurse?"

"Sounds good to me," Draco replied, grinning at the thought of Hermione in her naughty nurses outfit from their dressing up cupboard.

Heading back home, Scorpius and Draco changed out of their wet clothes and everyone settled down to spend the rest of the afternoon snuggled up in the house. Puddle jumping had certainly been fun, but Draco was looking forward to even more fun that night when Nurse Hermione was on duty.


	2. The Suit

**A/N - This is a piece that features my favourite kind of Scorpius - young, mischievous and has an answer for everything. Enjoy the fluff.**

* * *

 **The Suit.**

Standing in her large walk-in wardrobe, Hermione Malfoy debated what to wear for the naming ceremony she and her family were attending that afternoon. Hermione's best friend, Harry Potter, had recently had a son with his wife, Ginny, and little James was having his naming ceremony that day. Hermione herself had a six year old son, so she knew just how much the day meant to Harry and Ginny, and she knew that her friends would want the day to run smoothly.

"Draco, can you go and check on Scorpius," Hermione called as she mulled over two dresses, finally plumping for a red and black print knee length dress. "Make sure he's not getting into trouble. I'll go and get him ready in a minute."

Hermione heard her husband mutter a reply as he left the bedroom to check on their son. However, he'd only been gone a few minutes when she heard little footsteps behind her and her mischievous six year old boy came flying into the wardrobe.

"Mummy, Mummy, I've got my top," Scorpius cried, waving his favourite Slytherin quidditch top in her face. Draco had gotten the top specially made for their son on his first birthday, and it was magically enchanted to grow with him.

"You can't wear that, Scorp," Hermione said gently as she zipped up her dress.

"Why not?" Scorpius pouted, looking adorable as ever with his big grey eyes and soft platinum blond hair.

"Because today is James's naming ceremony and we have to dress up," Hermione answered.

"Why?" Scorpius demanded.

"Because you have to look nice for James's big day," Hermione replied patiently.

"But why, he's not my baby," Scorpius whined. "I want to wear my quidditch top."

"Well, you can't," Hermione said as she swiped the top from her son's hands and threw it onto her bed. "You have to wear a suit."

"No," Scorpius spat, stomping his little feet as he marched out of Hermione's wardrobe and over to the bed where his top was lying. "No suit."

"Scorpius Malfoy, do not be a brat," Hermione warned as she emerged from the wardrobe to find Scorpius had hold of his top again. "You have to look your best for the big day, and that means putting your suit on."

"But why?" Scorpius complained. "James won't care. He's too little and boring to care."

"James isn't boring, he's just a baby," Hermione argued.

"He's boring," Scorpius insisted. "And ugly."

"James is not ugly," Hermione gasped. "He's an adorable baby."

"He looks like a pig," Scorpius retorted as he pushed the end of his nose upwards with his fingers, giving him a snout like appearance. "Oink, oink!"

"Scorpius," Hermione scolded, as she heard chuckling behind her. Turning around she found her husband standing in the doorway of the bedroom, smirking at their son's antics. "And you're no help. Don't encourage him."

"He does have a point," Draco said with a shrug. "James's nose is a little bit pig like. And Potter said just the other day that he snorts when he's sleeping."

"He has an adorable nose, and he's a lovely baby," Hermione argued. "And the pair of you better stop this before we leave. I will not have either of you insulting my new godson. Draco, finished getting dressed, and Scorpius you come with me."

"But I want to wear my quidditch top," Scorpius whined as his mother took hold of his hand and led him from the bedroom.

"Not today," Hermione said as she led her son back to his room.

Letting go of Scorpius, she shut the door behind her as she opened his wardrobe and found the suit she'd prepared the previous day. She then turned her attention to her son and wrestled him out of the clothes he was wearing and into fresh underwear.

"I hate underwear," Scorpius muttered darkly, tugging at the top of his underpants.

"Tough, you're wearing it," Hermione insisted, thinking how much like his father Scorpius was. Draco wasn't a huge fan of underwear and often went without.

Hermione fully expected to have a fight on her hands to get Scorpius into his suit, but surprisingly he let her dress him without too much fuss. Although, he did complain the entire time. Finally, she had him sorted and just had to tie his tie. However, she'd no sooner secured the knot on his red tie than Scorpius started making choking noises and started pulling at his tie.

"You're choking me," Scorpius cried dramatically. "I can't breathe. Murder, murder. You're trying to kill me."

"Stop being such a little drama queen," Hermione tutted as she lightly batted her son's hands away from his throat. Straightening his tie, she double checked that it wasn't too tight and cutting off his air supply. "There is nothing wrong with that tie, so leave it alone."

"Well this is just ugly," Scorpius sneered as he looked down at himself. He was wearing smart pin stripe trousers, a crisp grey shirt, a jazzy red waistcoat and a matching pinstripe jacket.

"I think you look adorable," Hermione replied. "Now to fix your hair."

"Not the hair," Scorpius cried, lifting his hands to protect his head. Like Draco he was particularly fussy about his hair, and he hated it being messed with.

"Yes, the hair." Moving her son's hands out of the way, Hermione proceeded to smooth down her son's unruly locks. Parting his hair, she made sure it was all neat before stepping back with a triumphant smile. "Perfect."

"It's ugly," Scorpius cried, even though he couldn't see his hair. Before Hermione could stop him, he ran his hands through his hair, making it stand up all over the place.

"Scorp," Hermione moaned, not happy that she had to do her son's hair all over again. "You looked so cute."

"I look cute in my quidditch top," Scorpius said, giving his mother a serious look. "Everyone says so."

"Well you look even cuter in your suit," Hermione argued as she fixed her son's hair for a second time. This time she didn't let Scorpius ruin his hair as she took him into the bathroom so he could see his appearance for himself. "See, you look very handsome."

"I look like a dork," Scorpius retorted, sticking his tongue out at his reflection.

"A very cute dork," Hermione chuckled, giving her son a peck on the cheek. "And you'll not be the only one in a suit. Little Fred will be wearing a suit."

Little Fred Weasley was the son of George and his wife, Angelina. Scorpius and Fred were born days apart, and they'd been best friends ever since. Although, put together the pair could be rather a handful. After all, Scorpius had the mischievous Malfoy genes, along with his Slytherin tendencies, and Little Fred was just as much of a handful as his father and the late uncle he'd been named after. Needless to say the pair had caused a lot of havoc over the last six years, and Hermione dreaded to think what sort of trouble they'd get up to once they started Hogwarts.

"And what if he's not?" Scorpius demanded.

"He will be," Hermione reassured her son.

Scorpius merely huffed in annoyance as he stalked back into his bedroom and picked up his quidditch top. Folding it into a neat bundle, he handed the shirt to his mother.

"What's this for?" Hermione asked warily.

"If Fred's not wearing a suit, then I'm not," Scorpius answered. "I'm taking my top just in case."

"Okay, I'll put it in my bag," Hermione conceded. "But you are not changing into it, unless Little Fred isn't in a suit. If Little Fred is suited and booted, then you're staying the same way."

"Okay," Scorpius replied with a sly smirk that left Hermione thinking that her son had something else up his little sleeves.

Still wary about what Scorpius could be planning, Hermione escorted her son back to her room where she finished getting dressed. Once Hermione and Draco were ready, Hermione wrangled Scorpius into a new pair of shiny black shoes, something else which the six year old complained bitterly about. Finally, they were ready to go and they headed off to the Potters house, where the naming ceremony would be taking place in their large back garden.

Unfortunately for Scorpius, Fred was all dressed up in a suit of his own when they arrived, so Hermione refused to let him change. Although that didn't deter Scorpius for long, and the second he got a drink once the naming ceremony was over, he proceeded to 'accidentally' spill it over all his top.

"Oops," He declared, with wide innocent eyes as Hermione looked at him in complete shock.

"I can dry you using magic," Hermione threatened.

"But that itches," Scorpius pouted. "I'd have to itch myself all day and people will think I've got lice."

"Scorpius Malfoy, you're a wicked boy," Hermione muttered as she ushered her son inside to change his top. Of course, it wasn't just his shirt that had to go, Scorpius insisted on removing his jacket, waistcoat and tie as well.

Returning to the back garden, Hermione let Scorpius run off and play. However, she was shocked when he ran straight over to Fred, who'd also been changed and was now wearing his Gryffindor quidditch top. George had bought Fred the top the same time as Draco had bought Scorpius his, and like Scorpius's top, Fred's was enchanted to grow with him.

"What happened?" Hermione asked Angelina as her friend stood shaking at her head at her son.

"My son is just like his father, he knows exactly how to get his own way," Angelina replied. "It took me all morning to get him into his suit, and then at the first chance he gets, he spills juice all down his top."

"And let's guess, he wanted to wear his quidditch top all the time," Hermione said.

"Exactly," Angelina confirmed with a nod. "I take it Scorpius was the same?"

"He was," Hermione replied. "I swear those two boys are too much like their fathers. Heaven help McGonagall when they start Hogwarts."

"I'm thinking of leaving the country when Fred starts Hogwarts," Angelina chuckled. "Just think of the owls we're going to get."

"Maybe they'll have grown up by then and they won't be causing trouble," Hermione said hopefully.

"I doubt it, their fathers haven't exactly grown up, have they?" Angelina replied, inclining her head to where George and Draco were sitting at a table with their heads together, looking very much like they were going to cause mischief.

"What do you think those two are up to?" Hermione asked with a groan.

"I don't know, but let's leave them to it," Angelina suggested. "If we steer clear of them we can deny all knowledge of whatever it is they're planning."

"Good idea," Hermione agreed with a chuckle as she and Angelina grabbed a drink each and settled themselves on the other side of the garden to their errant husbands and sons.

Letting the boys take care of themselves, Hermione and Angelina settled for a few hours peace. After all, peace was hard to find if you were married to a Malfoy or a Wesley twin and had sons that took after their fathers.


	3. Baby Surprise

**A/N - I did intend to post this piece last night, but we're currently having problems with the internet and we're only getting it in little blasts until it's fixed. Hopefully, that will be soon, but until then I'll try and post when I do have internet so for the rest of the week, updates could be any time and any day.**

 **This piece takes place before any children, but it is still very much family and pregnancy orientated. As most pieces are in this collection, it's fluffy and light-hearted so enjoy.**

* * *

 **Baby Surprise.**

The hot Mediterranean sun was blazing down on the Malfoy villa in the Algarve as Lucius Malfoy and his son, Draco, returned to the villa following their walk. The two wizards had been into the nearby village, buying supplies for the evening's barbecue. When they returned to the villa, they found a note propped on the kitchen table, saying that Lucius's wife, Narcissa, and Draco's wife, Hermione, had gone for a walk and would be back later that afternoon.

"It looks like we've got a few hours to ourselves," Lucius remarked to his son. "Do you want to stay here, or should we head down to the pub?"

"The pub sounds nice," Draco replied. "We could have drink, and still be back before mother and Hermione."

"Precisely," Lucius agreed with a smirk. "I'll just run up and change my shirt."

Draco also decided a change of shirt was in order, so he accompanied his father up to the second floor. The second floor held two large bedrooms, each of which had a private en-suite bathroom. The two men disappeared into the respective bedrooms to put on a clean shirt and freshen up. When Draco was finished, he poked his head into his father's room to see if Lucius was ready. When there was no initial sign of Lucius, he wondered if his father had gone back downstairs, but then his father appeared in the doorway leading to the bathroom, with a puzzled look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked.

"There's some sort of strange contraption in the bin," Lucius remarked.

"What do you mean by strange contraption?" Draco asked warily. He knew his parents still had a healthy sex life, and he didn't want to be confronted by something kinky.

"A strange stick with the word 'pregnant' written on it," Lucius answered.

Draco sucked in a breath as the description matched the muggle pregnancy tests Hermione bought. The couple had been trying for a baby for the last year, and his wife often had a stack of pregnancy tests around so she could check to see if they'd been lucky enough to conceive. Of course she could also check the magical way, but it was a complicated spell that involved a freshly brewed potion, so Hermione reckoned that using muggle tests were easier. Besides, she was adamant a muggle test was every bit as accurate as any sort of magical test.

"You know what it is," Lucius stated, spotting his son's reaction.

"I think so," Draco replied slowly. "Let me have a look."

Lucius stepped to one side to allow Draco to enter the bathroom. Draco walked straight over to the bin in the corner, and spotted the muggle pregnancy test lying right on the top of the bin. Draco's eyes immediately fell to the little square on the test which revealed if a woman was pregnant, and like his father said, the word 'pregnant' was printed in bold letters. Over the last year Draco had seen many of these tests, and before now they'd all came back with the words 'not pregnant' written on them.

"Well, what is it?" Lucius asked as he bent down to pick up the stick.

"Don't," Draco yelled, stopping his father before he touched the stick. "Believe me, you don't want to touch it."

Lucius immediately pulled his hand away from the stick and eyed it warily. "Is it poisonous?"

"No," Draco replied with a chuckle. "You just don't want to touch it. It's a muggle pregnancy test, and muggles test for pregnancy in a very strange way."

"How strange?" Lucius asked.

"They use a water sample to test for pregnancy," Draco answered.

Lucius gave his son a confused look, before understanding dawned on his face. Glancing down at the stick in the bin, he hurriedly stepped away before turning back to Draco.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," Draco confirmed with a nod. "But it doesn't matter right now. What matters is that there's a positive test in your bin."

"You've done it son," Lucius said with a proud grin as he slapped his son on the back. "Hermione's pregnant."

"I wonder why she hasn't told me," Draco mused, still staring down at the stick in the bin in amazement.

"She clearly only found out today," Lucius pointed out. "That stick wasn't there this morning. I bet that's why she and Narcissa have gone for a walk, they're probably thinking about the best way to tell us the happy news."

"Probably," Draco agreed with a smile. "Hermione does love to surprise me."

"I'm aware of that," Lucius remarked with a slight grimace, remembering the time he'd popped into Draco's office unexpectedly to drop off some papers and found his daughter-in-law sitting on his desk in some skimpy underwear, waiting for Draco to arrive back from lunch.

Draco chuckled at his father's discomfort, too happy to be jealous about the fact his father had seen Hermione in her underwear. Normally the mention of the incident made Draco uncomfortable, but right now he was too happy to be bothered about the past. Right now, his focus was on the fact he was going to be a father, and he couldn't wait.

"We have to go and get something for the baby," Draco said. "I'm sure we can find something in the village. Just a small token I can give to Hermione, to let her know how happy I am that she's pregnant."

"That's an excellent idea," Lucius agreed. "Let's go, and we can have a drink to celebrate while we're out. I can't believe I'm going to be a grandfather. I hardly feel old enough to be a grandfather."

"Come on old man, let's go and grab a present and have a celebration drink," Draco chuckled.

In a cloud of happiness the two men headed down to the village, where Draco found a gorgeous baby-gro with the words 'Daddy's Little Angel' written on the front. After buying one in a neutral colour, the pair headed to the pub where they had a quick drink before returning to the villa. The women still weren't back when they first arrived back, but by the time they'd magically lit the barbecue and gotten the food started, Narcissa and Hermione returned.

"Did you have a nice walk?" Lucius asked as he pecked his wife lovingly on the cheek.

"We did," Narcissa answered.

"And what about you two?" Hermione asked as she nestled herself at Draco's side. "What did you get up to while we were gone?"

"Nothing much," Draco answered, unable to keep the large grin off his face. "We just went for a stroll down to the pub."

"Typical," Narcissa chuckled. "The second out backs are turned, you two go running off for a drink."

"It was just one," Lucius retorted. "Now why don't you two lovely ladies sit down, and we'll sort the food."

"What are you up to, Lucius?" Narcissa asked her husband as she settled down at the table on the veranda.

"Nothing, we're just being good husbands," Lucius replied. "Isn't that right, Draco?"

"It is," Draco confirmed with a nod as he turned to his wife. "Go and sit down, Hermione. I'll bring your food to you, and there's a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne on the table."

"Why non-alcoholic?" Hermione asked as she headed over to join Narcissa.

"It just looked nicer that the other stuff in the shops," Draco replied.

For the next hour, Draco waited on Hermione, making sure she didn't have to get up for anything. Lucius was just as attentive with Narcissa, and by the end of the meal both witches were suspicious of their husbands. It wasn't that Lucius and Draco weren't normally romantic and considering, because they were, it was just very obvious to both women that the pair had something else on their minds. Then there was the fact they kept sharing secretive looks, and Draco hadn't stopped smiling all evening.

"As lovely as this evening has been, I think it's time for some answers," Hermione said as the two couples moved inside when a chill began to rise in the air. "Just what are you two, up to?"

"I can't do it any longer," Draco announced as he pulled a small white bag from behind the sofa. "Hermione, this is for you."

Slightly surprised by the gesture, Hermione opened the bag. When she reached into the bag and pulled out a beautiful baby-gro, she gasped softly and looked up at Draco in bewilderment.

"I know it's soon, but I just couldn't resist," Draco gushed excitedly. "I just want you to know how happy I am at the news."

"What news?" Hermione asked as she gently put the baby-gro back into the bag.

"You're pregnant," Draco announced with a wide grin.

"We found your pregnancy test in the bathroom bin," Lucius added, when Hermione continued to look baffled.

"Ooh," Narcissa squeaked, clasping her hand over her mouth.

"I'm sure you had some big surprise planned when you were going to tell me, but I couldn't help myself," Draco continued, taking hold of Hermione's hand as he took his mother's squeak of one of joy. "I'm just so thrilled."

"We both are," Lucius added, sounding every bit as excited as Draco. "A new baby, I just can't wait."

"Draco, I'm not pregnant," Hermione said gently, stealing a glance over at Narcissa and giving her an apologetic look.

"But we found the test," Draco protested. "It was positive."

"I'm not pregnant," Hermione repeated.

"But the test," Lucius argued.

"Was mine," Narcissa said quietly.

Lucius and Draco both let out stunned gasps as they whirled round to face Narcissa.

"Yours?" Lucius questioned.

"Yes," Narcissa confirmed with a nod. "While the two of you were out, I confided in Hermione that I thought I was pregnant. She had some muggle tests and suggested I try one. The result was positive."

"You're pregnant?" Lucius whispered, shock written all over his face.

"I am," Narcissa replied.

"Bloody hell," Draco muttered, slumping back against the sofa he was sitting on in shock. In a matter of moments he'd gone from being an expectant father, to a brother to be, and it was a hell of a thing to take in.

"I'm sorry, Draco," Narcissa said softly. "I know how much you and Hermione want a baby. We never planned this, it just happened."

"No-one blames you for this, Narcissa," Hermione said, smiling at her mother-in-law. "I think it's great that you're having another child."

Narcissa smiled back at her daughter-in-law, but her focus was on her husband and son. It hadn't escaped her notice that they'd both been pretty quiet and hadn't yet offered their opinion. Of course they were obviously still in shock, but the longer they were going without reacting the more nervous she was becoming.

"Lucius," Narcissa prompted after a few minutes. "Please say something, sweetheart."

Slowly Lucius raised his head and looked at his wife. For a moment Narcissa couldn't read her husband's expression, but slowly his face broke into a large smile and with a loud cry of joy of swept her into his arms and gave her a searing kiss.

"We're going to have a baby," He cried excitedly. "Cissa, it's brilliant."

"Are you sure?" Narcissa asked with a light laugh. "We are a lot older this time around."

"Nonsense, we're still young at heart," Lucius protested. "A new baby is a blessing, and I couldn't be happier."

Narcissa took a moment to revel in her husband's joy, before she turned to her son. Draco was still sitting looking stunned, and she knew her announcement must be hard on him, especially since he'd thought it was Hermione who was pregnant.

"Draco." Narcissa reached out to touch her son, resting her hand on his arm. "Are you okay?"

Draco nodded his head and when he turned to face his mother, he had a genuine smile on his face. "I'm very happy for the pair of you. This baby couldn't get better parents."

"I'm sorry you got your hopes up about becoming a father," Narcissa said. "I didn't think about the test and if someone would see it."

"It's okay," Draco said with a smile. "And I'm sure we'll get a baby of our own one day."

"Of course we will," Hermione said, wrapping her arms around her husband and giving him a kiss. "And this way our child will have a little aunt or uncle to play with."

"Yeah. Because that's what every kid wants, an aunt or uncle just a few years older than them," Draco muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Come to think about it, a baby sister or brother is what every twenty three year old wants as well."

"You'll get used to it," Hermione chuckled as he gave Draco another kiss. "And just think, we can still have hours of fun trying for our baby."

"Yeah, we can," Draco agreed with a grin as he swept his wife into a steamy kiss.

"Do you mind waiting until you return to your room," Lucius interrupted, before things got too heated between the young couple. "Or at least wait until we've left the room."

"Sorry," Draco replied as he tore himself away from Hermione and got to his feet. "Even though, this isn't quite what I had in mind, I think we need to toast the newest addition to the family. Soon there'll be one more Malfoy in the world, and even though it'll be my baby sister or brother, it'll still be loved by everyone."

After a toast, the two couples went their separate ways to deal with the news. Lucius and Narcissa retired to their room, where they celebrated the news the only way they knew how, by making love in the large Jacuzzi in the bathroom. Meanwhile Draco and Hermione remained downstairs, with Draco still coming to terms with the news his parents were about to have another child. After a few drinks, Draco was looking forward to becoming a big brother, and he was also looking forward to the fun he and Hermione would have as they continued to try for the baby they wanted.

What Draco didn't realise was that they wouldn't be trying for that much longer, as it was on their trip to Portugal that Hermione fell pregnant with their child. In the end Hermione gave birth to their son, Scorpius, a mere two and a half months after Narcissa had given birth to Draco's sister, a little angel named Capella.


	4. The Perfect Name

**A/N - This piece takes place in a universe with no war. It's a light and fluffy piece so enjoy.**

* * *

 **The Perfect Name.**

"Do you want to know the sex of the baby?" The healer asked the couple she was dealing with.

Hermione Malfoy turned to her husband, Draco, a questioning look on her face. Hermione was nearly five months pregnant with the couple's third child. The pair already had six year old twins, Scorpius and Lyra.

"It would help us get the nursery ready," Draco said. "Plus it might be easier to deal with the twins if we can tell them they're getting a brother or a sister."

"You just don't like surprises," Hermione chuckled.

"I'm just being practical," Draco argued. Actually, Hermione was right and he wasn't a big fan of surprises, he preferred to know exactly what was going on.

"Practical it is then," Hermione said as she turned back to the healer conducting her scan. "Yes, we'd like to know the sex of the baby."

"Congratulations, you're having a little girl," The healer answered with a smile.

Hermione turned back to her husband to find his face had broken out into a wide grin. Hermione wasn't sure if it was because Draco really wanted another daughter, or if he was just happy the baby was healthy. After all, he doted on both of their children and Hermione knew no matter what the sex of their new baby he would love them just as much as he did their other two children.

Finishing up with the scan, the couple got a print out of their baby before heading for a drink before they went home to break the news to their children. Fortunately the two six year olds were being looked after by their doting grandparents and both Draco and Hermione knew his parents wouldn't be at all concerned if the couple took an hour to themselves before heading home.

"Are you pleased?" Draco asked his wife as they settled at an outside table in a cosy wizarding café just round the corner from St Mungo's.

"That the baby's a girl?" Hermione asked, picking up her herbal tea and sipping it.

Draco also picked up his drink, a cup of caramel latte, as he nodded his head. "You're not disappointed we're not having a boy are you?"

"I wouldn't have been disappointed either way," Hermione replied. "We're already lucky enough to have two wonderful children, one of each sex, and this little princess is just the icing on the cake. You're not disappointed are you? You didn't want another mini-me?"

Hermione often referred to Scorpius as Draco's mini-me as their son was a carbon copy of his father. Like Draco, Scorpius had soft, platinum blond hair and mischievous grey eyes. However, looks weren't the only way he was like his father. Scorpius had Draco's knack for mischief as well as the charm to talk his way out of trouble. Hermione already knew her son would be a Slytherin, and when he was older she also suspected he was going to be a little heartbreaker just as Draco had been during their later years at Hogwarts.

"I think two Malfoy men in the house is possible enough," Draco said with a laugh.

"Quite possibly," Hermione agreed.

"To answer your question, I'm not disappointed," Draco told his wife. "Although, I do suspect Scorpius might not be thrilled with the news. He wants a brother."

"Not this time," Hermione replied, resting her hand on her protruding stomach.

"This time?" Draco raised a questioning eyebrow at his wife. "We're having more, are we?"

"Who knows what the future will bring," Hermione replied with a shrug of her shoulder. It wasn't like they'd planned on having more children after the twins, but here they were expecting their third child, so Hermione wasn't ruling out the possibility of adding to their brood in the years to come.

While they finished their drinks, the couple continued to chat about the newest member of the family and how to decorate her nursery. By the time the couple headed home they'd decided that they were going to involve the twins as much as possible. They didn't want either of their two children feeling left out or unloved just because they were having another baby. They wanted both Scorpius and Lyra to love their new little sister and for the five of them to be one happy family.

When they arrived home, Lucius and Narcissa stuck around long enough to find out the news about the baby's sex before they headed home to the manor. Left alone with their children, Hermione and Draco settled the twins down in the front room and informed them that their new baby sibling would be a girl.

"Yuck," Scorpius declared, sticking his tongue out at the news. "Girls are boring."

"And boys are smelly," Lyra retorted, tossing her brunette curls over her shoulder imperiously.

If Scorpius was Draco's mini-me, then Lyra was Hermione's. With her chocolate brown curls and large brown eyes, she was the double of her mother. She also had Hermione's brains and thirst for knowledge as well as being warm and caring. But like her mother, she could be quite bossy and opinionated.

"No-one is smelly or boring," Draco soothed, stopping the twins before they got into one of their bickering matches. "Least of all the new baby."

"But I wanted a brother," Scorpius pouted.

"Sorry Scorp, we can't control the sex of the baby," Hermione answered, ruffling his blond hair and smirking when he pulled away from her with a frown and immediately began tidying himself up. "You're getting a baby sister."

"But I had a name for my brother and everything," Scorpius whined.

"A name? What name?" Draco asked his son.

"Tornado," Scorpius answered enthusiastically. "Tornado Malfoy."

"Tornado?" Hermione almost choked on her son's suggestion. No doubt the name came from The Tutshill Tornadoes, the quidditch team Draco and Scorpius supported.

"Tornado is a stupid name," Lyra sniffed.

"You're stupid," Scorpius spat, sticking his tongue out at his sister.

"I have a name for the baby," Lyra said, ignoring her brother and focusing on her parents.

"What's your suggestion, sweetheart?" Draco asked.

"Princess Buttercup Bluebell," Lyra answered seriously, while beside her Scorpius burst out laughing.

"That's awful," Scorpius cackled.

"We'll keep it in mind," Hermione said diplomatically. Even though she wanted the twins to be involved in preparing for the baby, she decided that helping to name the baby wasn't going to be part of their involvement.

Draco and Hermione spent another ten minutes trying to get Scorpius to accept the idea he was getting another sister. Finally, he seemed resigned to the fact and the couple just hoped that when it came to it he would learn to accept his new sister. Although, the news had gone down well with Lyra and as she and her twin brother trotted off upstairs to play while Hermione sorted dinner, she was already planning things she could do with her baby sister.

"Do you think we should start thinking about names?" Draco asked as he followed his wife into the kitchen to help her prepare dinner.

"I don't suppose it would hurt," Hermione replied.

It had actually taken them quite a while to decide on names for the twins. Like with their newest arrival, they'd discovered the sex of the twins so they'd known for a few months that they were having a boy and a girl. Draco had mentioned the Black family tradition of using star and constellation names, so that was where they'd begun. After much deliberation they'd settled on Scorpius and Lyra. As for middle names, Hermione wanted to honour her parents who had died in a car accident the year after she and Draco had gotten married. So Scorpius became Scorpius Richard Malfoy, while Lyra's full name was Lyra Jean Malfoy.

"Is there any tradition in regards to names from your family?" Draco asked. As they'd discussed last time, his mother's side of the family had the constellation tradition but there was no such tradition with the Malfoys.

"Not that I know of," Hermione answered, passing her husband a pepper to chop. "My parents were both only children, and none of them ever mentioned being named for a reason."

"How did you get your name?" Draco questioned as he sliced the pepper like an expert without the aid of magic.

"My father like Greek mythology," Hermione answered. "I'm named after the daughter of Helen of Troy."

"We could look to Greek mythology for inspiration," Draco suggested.

"Or I was thinking we could honour your parents," Hermione said. "I know we gave the twins my parent's middle names because they're no longer here, but it doesn't have to be that way. It might be nice to honour people who are still with us. Especially since your parents have been so good to me."

After a wary beginning, Draco's parents had welcomed Hermione into their lives with open arms. By the time Hermione and Draco had married, Hermione already felt as though she'd been part of the family for years and after her parents had died, Lucius and Narcissa had been there for her even more than they had before. These days, their relationship was closer than Hermione had ever imagined it would be and she knew without a doubt that in Lucius and Narcissa she had loving, supportive parents.

"I'm not calling this baby, Narcissa," Draco insisted. "I love my mother, but I will not be one of those losers who names their kids after their parents. I mean, these poor kids must hate the fact they have no identity of their own. They don't even get a name of their own, they just get lumbered with the name of their grandparents." Suddenly realising Hermione was glaring at him, Draco stopped his rant. "What?"

"Losers who name their kids after their parents?" Hermione questioned. "You mean like my best friend?"

Draco winced as he realised his mistake. Hermione's best friend, Harry Potter, had three children with his wife, Ginny, and two of them were named after Harry's parents, James and Lily. Even their third one was named after Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, even though the wizard was still alive and kicking and very active in the Potters lives.

"I didn't mean Potter," Draco said. "I just meant in general. It's just not something I want to do."

"It's not something I want to do either," Hermione admitted, letting her husband off the hook as she knew he'd never meant to insult Harry's choice of names for his children.

"So what do you suggest, we combine the two names?" Draco chuckled. "What would you get? Lucissa? Narcius?"

"I don't think combing the names will work," Hermione said. "I thought we could use Narcissa as a middle name."

"And how the hell do we honour father?" Draco asked warily. "I am not calling my daughter, Lucius."

"Not Lucius," Hermione said with an amused laugh. "What about Lucy?"

"Lucy," Draco repeated the name thoughtfully before nodding his head. "Lucy. I like it. Lucy Narcissa Malfoy."

Hermione smiled at the name, thinking how perfect it sounded. "So we're agreed on Lucy?"

"Yes, our newest daughter will be Lucy," Draco agreed.

The couple broke the news of the name to their children over dinner, before broaching the subject with Draco's parents when they saw them the following day. Both Lucius and Narcissa were touched by the gesture, and genuinely moved that the couple were naming their newest daughter after them.

When she arrived, little Lucy was adored by the entire family, including Scorpius who had come round and decided that maybe his little sister wouldn't be quite as annoying as his twin sister. Little did Scorpius know there would be times over the years when his two sisters would gang up on him and drive him mad, but as he grew up he became very protective of his two sisters, and neither Lyra nor Lucy could ever ask for a better brother than Scorpius. As for Draco and Hermione, they couldn't ask for better children, and they certainly couldn't ask for a better family as in their opinion they had the best family in the world.


	5. Summer Days

**A/N - Just a cute, fluffy family piece before summer ends. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Summer Days.**

It was a scorching July day as the Malfoy family gathered at Draco and Hermione's house. After a light picnic style lunch, the entire family were making the most of the sunshine in the back garden. A large jug of homemade lemonade, which was enchanted to keep refilling itself, was sitting on the garden table, and everyone was just helping themselves to the beverage when they needed it.

Lucius and Narcissa were sitting beside the garden table, a parasol protecting them from the worst of the sun's rays and a magically powered fan sitting on the table, cooling them down. Lucius hadn't bothered with his robes for the day, and his tie had been disposed of hours ago, leaving him in his trousers and shirt. Even his shirt sleeves had been rolled up and the top few buttons undone, giving him a casual air that wasn't normally associated with Lucius Malfoy. Narcissa still looked her normal immaculate self, wearing a long turquoise dress and looking distinctly unruffled by the hot weather.

Not far away from Lucius and Narcissa were Draco and Hermione. The young couple had spread a blanket on the grass and were lying catching the sun. Hermione was wearing a small pair of white shorts and a thin pink vest top, while Draco was down to his shorts, having removed his t-shirt after lunch. As they lay on the blanket, the couple kept whispering to each other and laughing quietly together, causing Lucius and Narcissa to smile happily at how happy and contented their son was.

However, not all of the Malfoy family were content to just lie and enjoy the sun. Six year old Scorpius Malfoy was running around the garden, playing with his new puppy, a golden Labrador named Candy. Scorpius and Candy had been inseparable since Candy joined the family from a nearby rescue centre, and they were having a whale of a time playing in the back garden.

"Mummy, it's hot," Scorpius cried, running over to Hermione, Candy at his heels.

"Have you had a drink?" Hermione asked as she checked her son was still wearing his hat and had enough sun protection on.

"Yes," Scorpius replied. "I want to play with my water sprayer."

"Okay."

Getting to her feet, Hermione wandered down to the small shed where Scorpius's outdoors toys were and found his new water sprayer. The toy had been a gift from her parents, and it was a plastic caterpillar that sprayed water. Each rung of the caterpillar was a different colour and had an adjustable hosepipe coming from it, and on the caterpillars head were two antennae which also sprayed water. Since it was a muggle toy, it was designed to attach to a hose pipe, but Draco had enchanted it so that Scorpius could play with it without the hassle of a hosepipe.

"Don't go wild, Scorpius," Hermione cautioned as she placed the caterpillar on the grass and tapping it with her wand, turned it on and quickly darted backwards before she got sprayed with water.

"What on earth is that?" Lucius asked as Hermione settled back down next to Draco while Scorpius began to run in and out of the water jets that were streaming from the caterpillar.

"A present from my parents," Hermione explained. "It keeps Scorpius cool in the hot weather."

"I bet it also keeps him wet," Lucius remarked as he settled back in his chair, picked up his lemonade and watched his grandson and his puppy playing in the water.

For a while, Scorpius was content to just run through the water jets with Candy, letting the water cool them off. But all too soon, it was time for something else and Scorpius crouched down beside his caterpillar and began adjusting the nozzles so the water shot in different directions. Since the caterpillar was also portable, he then picked it up and began chasing Candy, trying to soak the poor puppy.

"Scorpius, put that down," Draco called. He wasn't worried about Scorpius soaking the dog, as firstly she was too fast for him and secondly if he managed it, it was only because she'd let him, but he didn't want his son to fall and hurt himself.

Dropping the caterpillar where he was, which was much closer to his grandparents, Scorpius ran off down the garden to get his truck which he'd been playing with earlier. With his bright yellow truck in hand, he returned to the caterpillar and filled up the truck bed with water. Once the truck was full, he then carefully carried the truck over to Hermione's roses and poured the entire contents over her rose bush.

"What are you doing, Scorpius?" Hermione asked.

"Watering the roses," Scorpius answered as he went back for a second truck load of water.

"Use your watering can," Draco said, swishing his wand in the air and summoning Scorpius's toy watering can from the shed.

"Thanks Daddy," Scorpius said with a grin as he grabbed the watering can off his father and filled it up from his caterpillar.

Scorpius continued to water the garden for a few more minutes before he got bored once again and resumed dancing through the water spray with Candy. When the dog was sick of parading through the water, it walked over to where Narcissa was sitting and settled under her chair out of the sun.

"Candy, come back," Scorpius called with a pout.

"Let him rest, Scorp," Draco said. "He'll be hot and you don't want to make him ill, do you?"

"I'll cool him down," Scorpius declared.

Before anyone could stop him, he'd adjusted the jets on his caterpillar and shot them in the direction of his puppy. Sadly, his aim wasn't perfect and instead of hitting Candy, the jets of water hit Narcissa, soaking her from head to toe. The second the water hit her, Narcissa sprung up from her chair, squealing in shock. Draco began howling with laughter at the sight, and even Lucius was chuckling softly as his wife shot to her feet.

"Oh my god," Hermione whispered, totally mortified as her mother-in-law got a soaking from her son.

"Classic," Draco said through his tears of laugher.

"Sorry Nana Cissa," Scorpius offered sheepishly as he twisted the jets away from his soaking grandmother.

"Accidents happen," Narcissa replied, and everyone could see she was torn between being annoyed at the soaking and laughing at Scorpius's hijinks.

"I'm so sorry Narcissa," Hermione said as she jumped to her feet to assist her mother-in-law. "Would you like to borrow something of mine?"

"I don't think we're quite the same size," Narcissa replied. In truth she doubted her daughter-in-law would own anything suitable for her as Hermione's fashion tastes had a distinct muggle flair to them, plus she was over twenty years her junior and therefore her clothes were all too young for Narcissa. "I'll just dry off using magic."

"If you're sure," Hermione said.

"I'm sure, sweetheart," Narcissa replied, giving Hermione a smile.

Leaving Narcissa to sort her clothes, Hermione grabbed Scorpius's caterpillar and moved it down to the bottom of the garden. She then placed a sticking charm on the toy so her son couldn't move it again.

"Play down here," She told her son before heading back to join her husband and his parents. "I really am sorry Narcissa. I swear that boy is such a devil."

"Like father like son," Lucius said with a smirk. "Draco was the same when he was younger."

"I doubt he soaked people in the middle of the day," Hermione said.

"Actually, he once poured a bucket of water over my head," Narcissa confessed.

"That wasn't my fault, I thought I was being helpful," Draco pouted.

"How was pouring a bucket of water over your mother's head, helpful?" Hermione asked with a laugh.

"It was a really hot day and we were all out in the manor's gardens. I was running around playing and Mother and Father were sitting talking. Anyway, as I was passing them I heard Father say that mother was looking very hot. I just wanted to help, so I filled my bucket from the pond and poured it over Mother to help cool her down," Draco explained, causing Hermione to laugh even harder beside him. "Of course, it was only after I started to grow up, that I realised that hot did not mean what I thought it did, at least not that day."

"I wouldn't have thought you were the type to use the word, hot, Lucius," Hermione chuckled. She'd heard him call his wife beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, plus many other compliments, but nothing like hot.

"After that day, I've never used the word since," Lucius said. "But back in our youth, I often described Narcissa as hot. These days she's just sinfully sexy."

Narcissa smiled lovingly at her husband and leant over to give him a kiss, causing Draco to groan and turn his head away from his amorous parents. It didn't matter how much he'd witnessed the affection they had for one another, it didn't stop being creepy. He would much rather they left it for the bedroom, or at the very least waited until he wasn't around before slobbering all over each other.

"If you don't stop that, I'll be throwing water over you both this time," Draco warned as his parents continued to kiss.

"Don't be such a spoilsport, I think it's lovely," Hermione said. "I hope we're still that affectionate when we've been married as long as your parents."

"I'm sure we can embarrass Scorpius when he's older," Draco said with a smirk as he looked at his wife.

"I'm sure we can," Hermione agreed, pressing her lips against Draco's.

"Hey you two, save it for the bedroom," Lucius called good naturedly as he and Narcissa finally parted.

Laughing lightly, Draco gave Hermione one final kiss before they all settled back down to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Luckily for the rest of the afternoon, Scorpius kept out of mischief, or at least he avoided involving the adults in his playtime. He still had plenty of fun and when Hermione went to put his toys away she'd found the little devil had dug himself a hole and filled it with water, creating himself a small pond. Still, it was easily fixed with magic and the important thing was that Scorpius was enjoying himself. After all, if you couldn't be a bit mischievous as a six year old, when could you be?


	6. Fairy Tales

**A/N - Just a cute, fluffy family piece.**

* * *

 **Fairy Tales.**

"Come on Cassie, it's time for bed," Draco Malfoy called as he strolled into the front room where his five year old daughter was playing with her dolls.

"But I'm not sleepy," Cassiopeia protested with a pout.

"Sleepy or not, it's still bedtime," Draco argued, refusing to be swayed by his cute daughter and the soulful brown eyes she got from her mother.

In many respects Draco was a push over when it came to both his wife and his daughter, but he'd promised Hermione he would get Cassiopeia off to bed while she got some rest. At nearly eight months pregnant, Hermione was exhausted after looking after their daughter all day, so Draco had been making sure he'd done his bit once he was in from work. And that meant wrangling his daughter into bed at a reasonable hour.

"But Daddy," Cassiopeia began to protest.

"No buts young lady," Draco interrupted sternly. "It's bedtime. Get yourself upstairs and ready for bed. I'll be up in five minutes and I expect you to be washed, have your teeth brushed and ready for bed, is that understood?"

"Yes Daddy," Cassiopeia said with a sigh as she got to get feet. "But do I still get a bedtime story?"

"Of course you do," Draco replied, dropping a kiss on the top of his daughter's head as she passed by.

While Cassiopeia headed off upstairs, Draco took a few minutes to tidy the mess his daughter had made in the front room. Thankfully the task was easy with the use of magic, and a few flicks of his wand had the front room looking pristine. Satisfied that he hadn't missed anything, Draco headed upstairs. Hearing Cassiopeia in the bathroom, he poked his head into the master bedroom, where Hermione was lying in bed with her book.

"Can I get you anything?" Draco asked.

"I'm fine," Hermione replied. "Is that Cassie getting ready for bed?"

"Yeah, I'll send her in to give you a goodnight kiss when she's done," Draco said.

"There's no need, I can get up," Hermione said, shutting her book and placing it on the bedside table.

"Oh no you don't," Draco called, entering the room and stopping Hermione before she had a chance to get out of bed. "You're supposed to be resting. Cassie can come to you."

"Draco, I'm pregnant, not ill," Hermione said, although she couldn't help but smile at her husband's considerate attitude. "I don't need to stay in bed."

"That's a shame, because I was going to join you once I'd settled Cassie down," Draco replied with a wicked smirk.

"Maybe I can stay in bed a bit longer then," Hermione said, smiling back at her husband.

Draco gave Hermione a quick kiss, before leaving the bedroom and walking down the hallway to their daughter's room. When Draco poked his head into Cassiopeia's room, he found his daughter had pulled on her Sleeping Beauty pyjamas. Thanks to Hermione's muggle roots, Cassiopeia was mad about princesses and her room was a shrine to the various Disney incarnations her mother had introduced her to.

"Have you been washed and brushed your teeth?" Draco asked.

"Yes," Cassiopeia replied, and to prove it she opened her mouth and hit Draco with a waft of her strawberry flavour toothpaste.

"Okay then, go and say goodnight to your Mum," Draco said.

"And you can get the story ready. I want Cinderella tonight," Cassiopeia ordered as she marched out of the room.

Shaking his head at how like Hermione his daughter was, Draco headed over to Cassiopeia's bookshelf and searched for her fairy-tale book. Even though he read to his daughter all the time, he just couldn't remember the muggle stories she loved so much. All the princesses didn't appeal to him, so all the stories tended to blur together, meaning a book was imperative if he wanted to give Cassiopeia a bedtime story. Now if she'd been asking for a wizarding story, he could have recited them from memory, but his daughter preferred her muggle princesses. By the time Cassiopeia returned, Draco still hadn't found the book. Nor had he found any other of her books which contained a version of Cinderella.

"Sorry princess, but I can't find Cinderella," Draco said as Cassiopeia clamoured into bed. "Do you know where your fairy-tale book is?"

"Yes."

"Where?" Draco pressed when his daughter didn't elaborate.

"At Nana Cissa's," Cassiopeia replied. "But it's okay, you don't need the book. Just tell me the story of Cinderella."

Not wanting to disappoint his daughter, Draco sat down on his daughter's bed, trying to remember which princess, Cinderella was, and what her story was about.

"Come on Daddy," Cassiopeia urged. "It starts, once upon a time."

"Once upon a time lived a princess called Cinderella," Draco began, smiling down at his daughter who frowned slightly at the beginning of his story. "Cinderella was very beautiful and the evil queen didn't like her. In fact, she was convinced that Cinderella wasn't even a princess, so she set a trap for her. One night she slipped a pea under the mattress in Cinderella's bed, knowing that if she didn't feel it then she wasn't a real princess. Because only a princess can feel something as small as a pea in the bed."

"No Daddy," Cassiopeia cred, shaking her head. "You're wrong."

"What about?" Draco asked with a frown. "I'll have you know that it's well know that only princesses can feel peas in their bed."

"But it wasn't Cinderella with the pea in her bed," Cassiopeia pointed out. "And there's no evil queen in Cinderella."

"There's always an evil queen," Draco protested. He might not be able to remember which fairy tale was which, but from his recollections there was always some sort of evil queen or witch trying to get rid of the pretty princess.

"The evil queen is Snow White," Cassiopeia explained, her tone of voice betraying her exasperation at her father's lack of knowledge.

"Oh," Draco said softly. "So which once is Cinderella?"

"Cinderella is the one with the ugly sisters and the glass slipper," Cassiopeia answered with a dramatic sigh.

"And the pea in the bed?"

"That's the princess and the pea," Cassiopeia answered. "Do you not know anything, Daddy?"

"Sorry sweetheart, without the books I get a bit lost," Draco admitted.

"Never mind," Cassiopeia said softly, patting his hand in a patronising manner. "I'll tell you the story of Cinderella."

"But it's supposed to be your bedtime story," Draco pointed out.

"Do you know the story of Cinderella?" Cassiopeia asked, her little eyebrows shooting into her hairline as she gave her father a questioning look.

"Not off the top of my head," Draco confessed.

"So then, I'll have to tell the story," Cassiopeia announced with a dramatic sigh. "Once upon a time there was a girl named Cinderella. Not a princess, that bit comes later," She added in a quiet whisper to her father.

"Right, I'll remember that," Draco muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"Cinderella was very pretty, but her stepmother hated Cinderella as she had two ugly daughters," Cassiopeia continued. "Cinderella's stepmother and ugly sisters were horrid to her and when Cinderella's daddy died, they forced Cinderella into being their servant."

As Cassiopeia continued to recite the story of Cinderella, Draco listened to his little girl with pride. Not only did she have the entire story memorised, but she kept adding her own little bits of information. She also pointed out the mistakes Draco had made in his attempt to tell the story as she told him the correct story.

"And so Cinderella and her prince got married and lived happily ever after," Cassiopeia finished.

"That was a lovely story, sweetheart," Draco said, dropping a kiss to the top of his daughter's head.

"And it's easy to remember," Cassiopeia said.

"I'll remember it for tomorrow," Draco vowed, secretly deciding to go and get the fairy table book from his parents' house so he had the story written down for him.

"I don't want Cinderella tomorrow," Cassiopeia said with a shake of her head. "Tomorrow you can read me Rapunzel."

"Rapunzel?" Draco frowned, trying to remember which princess she was. "Is she the one who sleeps for a hundred years?"

"No, that's Sleeping Beauty," Cassiopeia replied in an exasperated voice. "Don't worry Daddy, tomorrow I'll tell you all about all the princesses."

"I can't wait," Draco replied with a fake smile. As much as he loved his daughter, a lecture on princesses wasn't on the top of his to-do list. "Now you snuggle down and go to sleep."

"Goodnight, Daddy," Cassiopeia whispered as she did as she was told and snuggled down in her bed.

"Goodnight, princess," Draco returned.

Tucking Cassiopeia in, he flicked on her night light and quietly left her bedroom. Making his way down the hallway, he entered his own room to find Hermione was lying in bed, fast asleep. Not having the heart to wake his wife, he gave her a gentle kiss, made sure she was comfortable, before turning the light off and heading back downstairs. While the two most precious people in his life were asleep upstairs, Draco had a quick drink and a few hours of peace and quiet, all the time thinking about how lucky he was to have Hermione and Cassiopeia, not to mention the new baby that would be entering the world any week now and making the Malfoy family complete.


	7. A Soft Touch

**A/N - This piece is more about Luicus, and his role as a grandfather. It's very light and very fluffy.**

* * *

 **A Soft Touch.**

Retirement was something that Lucius Malfoy had dreaded for years. In fact he'd even put off retiring for several years until his son, Draco, and his wife, Narcissa, had ganged up on him and persuaded him that after years of working hard it was time to take it easy and rest up. Lucius had never had a problem with the extra time retiring would mean spending with his wife, it was the lack of activity that had worried him, but he needn't have worried. Narcissa had kept him busy since retirement, and then there was his grandchildren to keep him busy. Life was never boring when eight year old Scorpius, and four year old Lyra were around the manor.

In fact Lucius was currently getting ready to spend the afternoon looking after his granddaughter. Draco was at work, running the family business, while Draco's wife Hermione was going to be busy all afternoon with Narcissa as the pair were planning a big anniversary party for Lucius and Narcissa. Scorpius was on a play date with his best friend, Alex Zabini, so this afternoon would be just Lucius and his precious granddaughter.

Lucius had to admit he'd been extremely nervous when Hermione had announced that her second child was going to be a girl. Lucius had never had experience with little girls, and even though he hadn't always been the best of fathers to Draco, he'd found it easy to be a doting grandfather to Scorpius. However, Lucius needn't have worried, for the second Lyra came along she'd had her grandfather wrapped around her little finger, and the pair had bonded immediately.

"Lucius," Narcissa's voice called, jolting her husband from his thoughts. "Hermione and Lyra are here."

Leaving his study, Lucius made his way to the main living room in the manor. Lyra was already settled on one of the sofas, her bag which would be stuffed full of things to do, sitting beside her. Narcissa and Hermione were standing talking, but Lucius barely had a chance to say hello to Hermione, before Lyra had climbed off the sofa and came barrelling towards him.

"Grandpa Lu," Lyra cried, launching herself at Lucius.

"Hello there my little princess," Lucius greeted, sweeping Lyra up into his arms and letting his cane fall to the floor. "Someone's getting big."

"I'm growing up," Lyra said with a serious nod. "Soon, I'll be a big girl."

"But for now, you're still my little girl," Lucius said, giving Lyra a kiss on the cheek, causing his granddaughter to giggle happily and snuggle into him.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to cope?" Hermione checked with her father-in-law as he settled Lyra on the sofa and told her to pick something from her bag for them to do.

"Of course," Lucius replied with a tut as he picked up his cane. "I am perfectly capable of looking after my granddaughter. Now you two scram, and leave Lyra and I alone."

"We get the hint, we're going," Narcissa chuckled, giving her husband a quick kiss before turning her attention to her granddaughter. "Bye, Lyra."

"Bye Nana Cissa," Lyra replied, barely looking up from her bag. "Grandpa Lu, will you read to me?" She asked, pulling her favourite book from her bag.

"Of course, sweetheart," Lucius said, sitting down next to his granddaughter as Narcissa and Hermione said their goodbyes and left the manor.

Left alone, Lucius settled down for an afternoon with his granddaughter. After reading Lyra's book, twice because she liked it so much, they played with some of Lyra's stuffed toys. Lucius didn't even flinch when Lyra pulled out a large dolls head and a brush, so she could style the dolls hair. He still related with Scorpius's toys easier, but for Lyra he would happily brush the hair on a doll.

"Grandpa Lu," Lyra said slowly, her tone of voice indicating she wanted something and wasn't sure how he was going to react.

"Yes princess," Lucius replied, giving his granddaughter a reassuring smile.

"Can I play with your hair?" Lyra asked with a shy smile.

Lucius's first instinct was to say no, as he wasn't sure he wanted Lyra to get it in a mess. He still wore his hair long, and he was proud of the fact he still had hair, unlike a lot of his friends who were rapidly going bald. However, Lyra was looking at him with her large brown eyes and he found himself incapable of saying no to her. With a sigh, he pulled out the black ribbon that was holding his hair back and gave his granddaughter permission to do as she pleased. It wasn't as if anyone would see the mess Lyra was going to make, as he would be his usual tidy self by the time anyone returned.

"I'll make you pretty," Lyra said, standing up on the sofa as she began to roughly pull the brush through Lucius's hair.

Lucius winced as Lyra pulled the brush through his hair. However, he didn't want to upset Lyra so he gritted his teeth and let Lyra carry on. After nearly five minutes of torture, she'd separated his hair into two halves and tied each half up with a pink bobble.

"Is that it?" Lucius asked, dreading to think what he looked like.

"No," Lyra replied with a shake of her head. "I'm giving you plaits."

"How lovely," Lucius replied, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

Lucius's annoyance was soon put to one side as he took in his granddaughter's happy face as she merrily plaited his long platinum blond hair. As she worked, Lyra giggled and chatted on to him, and Lucius soon forget about what she was doing to his hair. He was completely caught up in his granddaughter and how happy she was.

"Pretty grandpa," Lyra giggled as she finished the final plait. "Now for glitter."

"Glitter?" Lucius questioned with a frown.

"Everyone needs glitter," Lyra stated firmly as she dug around in her bag for a pot of glitter.

"Glitter it is then," Lucius replied with a sigh as Lyra produced a pot of hot pink glitter.

Lucius was initially worried that Lyra was just going to tip the pot over his head, but thankfully his granddaughter wasn't that reckless. She just grabbed a few handfuls and sprinkled it over his hair. Lucius figured he must look like a right state, but there was only Lyra around to see him, and his granddaughter was happy with her afternoons work.

"All done," Lyra declared with a proud grin.

"What do you want to do now, Lyra?" Lucius asked.

"Read," Lyra answered.

"We've read your book twice," Lucius pointed out. "How about we go and see what we can find in the library?"

"Yeah," Lyra cried, wrapping her arms around Lucius as he picked her up and carried her off to the large library that the manor boasted.

On the way Lucius managed to get a glimpse of himself in one of the mirrors. He'd been right about looking a state. His hair was in two messy and uneven plaits, and his head was covered with pink glitter. To be honest he wasn't sure how he was going to clean up completely without having to resort to having a shower. Maybe once Lyra had read for a bit he could get one of the house elves to watch her for a few minutes while he grabbed a quick shower.

Unfortunately for Lucius, he got so distracted in the library with Lyra that he temporarily forgot about his hair. Scouring the books and reading several stories to Lyra, he got well and truly distracted, and even when Lyra dozed off on his knee, he remained in the library, reading a book of his own. It was only when one of the house elves, all free these days thanks to Hermione's efforts, appeared that Lucius realised how much time had passed.

"Mr Severus is here to see you," The elf announced, before disappearing with a pop.

Lucius carefully got up from his chair, Lyra still sound asleep on his lap, and placed his granddaughter on the chair. However, before he got the chance to do something about his hair he heard a snickering behind him, and whirling around he came face to face with his old friend. The second he turned around, Severus burst out laughing.

"Oh Lucius, you look a picture," Severus spluttered through his laughter.

"I'm looking after Lyra," Lucius muttered through clenched teeth, wishing he'd gotten rid of the plaits after Lyra had first fallen asleep.

"So I see," Severus chuckled. "The plats suit you. Not to mention the pink glitter. So macho."

"If you're not careful, I'll let her loose on you," Lucius warned. While Severus's hair wasn't half as long as his, it was still long enough for Lyra to work her magic on.

"I'll be good," Severus promised with a smirk.

"And quiet," Lucius added. "I swear Severus, if anyone hears about this, I'll know where it's come from."

"I won't breathe a word," Severus vowed. "Especially if you get me a drink."

"Let's go back to the front room," Lucius said, picking up his granddaughter.

Together the two men went back to the front room, where Lucius placed a sleeping Lyra down on the sofa. He then gave Severus a glass of his finest firewhisky, before slipping off and sorting his hair. By the time the rest of the family returned, Severus had agreed to stay for dinner, and Lucius was back to normal. Now no-one but Severus and Lyra would ever know that Lucius had spent the afternoon with plaited hair and pink glitter all over his head.


	8. A New Sibling

**A New Sibling.**

An exhausted, but delighted, Draco Malfoy landed just outside of The Burrow's garden to pick up his five year old son, Scorpius. The previous afternoon, Draco's wife, Hermione, had gone into labour early with their daughter. Because their daughter hadn't been due for another three weeks, Draco's parents were on holiday, and the Weasleys had been the only ones available to look after Scorpius. Thankfully the redheaded family had been more than happy to look after Scorpius as they waited for news of Hermione and the baby. Draco himself wasn't overly close with any of the Weasleys, but Hermione was still very close to the family, and Draco knew they loved Scorpius and when he was at The Burrow he was treated as part of the family.

Draco quickly made his way through the Weasley's back garden to the kitchen door. No sooner had he knocked on the door than it flew open and he was almost knocked off his feet by his son hurling himself at him. Scorpius wrapped his arms tightly around Draco's legs and refused to let his father go.

"Hey Scorp," Draco greeted, finally prising his son off his legs and swinging him up into his arms. "Did you have a good time?"

"I want to go home," Scorpius muttered, burying his head in Draco's neck.

Baffled by his son's unusual clingy behaviour, Draco entered the kitchen. Molly was in the kitchen and she greeted Draco with a warm smile. Like the rest of the Weasleys she'd been wary of Draco when he'd first started dating Hermione, but in the eight years they'd been together he'd proved more than once just how much he loved Hermione, so the Weasleys had all come round and accepted him.

"How's Hermione?" Molly asked. "And the baby? I take it they'd both doing well."

"They're both doing great," Draco answered with a grin, before turning to his son. "You've got a little sister, Scorp."

"Don't want a sister," Scorpius pouted.

Draco frowned at his son, not sure where his change of opinion had come from. From the second they'd informed Scorpius that Hermione was pregnant, he'd been thrilled at the thought of being a big brother. They'd even discovered the sex of the baby beforehand so that Scorpius could get used to the idea of either having a brother or a sister. So for months, Scorpius had known he was getting a little sister and he'd been delighted by the fact.

"Do you have any names picked out?" Molly asked, remaining bright and cheerful despite Scorpius's sullenness.

"We've got a few options," Draco replied. "I think we're going to stick with the constellation theme. I think Scorpius is going to help us out, aren't you buddy?"

"Don't want to," Scorpius muttered, folding his little arms over his chest and pouting at his father.

Draco raised an eyebrow at his son's attitude and looked over the top of his silky platinum blond head to where Molly was standing. "I hope Scorpius was no problem," he said pointedly.

"He was an angel," Molly said, reaching out and ruffling the scowling Scorpius's soft platinum blond hair. "Why don't you go and get your things, Scorpius."

"Then do we go home?" Scorpius asked his father, dropping the pout and looking eagerly at Draco.

"Yes, we're going home and then you're going to go and meet your new sister," Draco replied as he set his son back onto the floor.

Scorpius didn't say anything in response to Draco's reply. He merely scowled again and stomped out of the kitchen to go and retrieve his bag. Draco watched his son go with a puzzled look, before he turned back to Molly.

"Has he been like this since yesterday?"

"No, he was in high spirits when he arrived yesterday afternoon," Molly replied. "By yesterday evening he'd turned quiet, and he's been sulking all morning."

"Has anything happened?" Draco asked, trying to make sense of his son's mood.

"Not that I know of," Molly answered. "He was quite happy yesterday playing with James and Hugo."

James was the six year old son of the only female Weasley, Ginny and her husband, Harry Potter. While Hugo was the seven year old son of Ron Weasley and his former girlfriend, Lavender Brown. Draco liked James and he knew Scorpius was good friends with him, but he didn't think his son had ever spent much time with Hugo. Since Hugo lived with Lavender, he only saw Ron every other weekend and it was rare that he was at The Burrow the same time as Scorpius.

"And the boys didn't have a fight?" Draco checked.

If Hugo was anything like his father, Draco couldn't imagine him and Scorpius getting along. Draco himself still didn't get along with Ron, and he often felt as though the redhead was just waiting for him to mess things up with Hermione. Not that it was going to happen as Draco had no intention of ever doing anything to ruin the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"Of course not," Molly said with a shake of her head. "I'm sure Scorpius will be fine once you get him home. I think he was just a bit homesick. He's been asking for you all morning."

Draco nodded, hoping Molly was right and Scorpius had just been missing his own home. When Scorpius returned, dragging his bag behind him, Draco thanked Molly and asked her to inform the rest of the family about the new baby, and to tell them that they could visit Hermione when she and the baby returned home the following day.

"Come on, let's get you home," Draco said, steering his son out of the house once Scorpius had thanked Molly for looking after him.

Molly waved the pair off from the kitchen door as they crossed the boundary to The Burrow and Draco apparated them home with a small pop.

"We'll have some lunch, and then we can go and meet your new sister," Draco said.

"No," Scorpius spat. "I don't want a new sister. Take her back."

"You can't say you don't want her, you haven't even met her," Draco said gently.

"I don't want to meet her. I hate her," Scorpius cried as he turned and ran into the front room.

Draco was so taken aback by his son's attitude that he remained frozen in place for a couple of minutes. Scorpius was normally such a well behaved child, and he wasn't prone to temper tantrums. He had enough Slytherin in him that he was mischievous and could cause plenty of trouble, but he was never hateful or cruel. The angry little boy Draco had just witnessed was nothing like his normal, loving son.

Eventually following Scorpius into the front room, Draco found his son sitting on the sofa, arms crossed and a dark scowl on his small face. Wanting to get to the bottom of what was bothering his son, and why his attitude about his sister had changed so rapidly, Draco sat down next to Scorpius.

"Why do you hate your sister?" Draco asked quietly. He wasn't going to get mad at Scorpius, but he did need his son to confide in him.

"I just do," Scorpius muttered moodily.

"Not good enough, Scorp," Draco said gently. "Yesterday you were looking forward to meeting her. What's changed?"

"I don't want you to stop loving me," Scorpius whispered and Draco could hear his son fighting back the tears.

"Why would you think that?" Draco asked, gazing at his son in shock. "What does having a sister do with us loving you?"

"You can only love one of us," Scorpius said sadly. "I'll be pushed out and you and Mum will only love the baby."

"Scorpius, that's just not true," Draco said, pulling his son onto his knee and wrapping his arms around him. "Your Mum and I will always love you. We can love both you and the baby."

"It doesn't work like that," Scorpius sniffed, his tears finally falling. "Hugo said that you can only love one of us and it will be the baby. He said that babies always push out everyone else. The baby will want my room, and I'll be left with nowhere to sleep."

"And Hugo Weasley told you all this?" Draco asked, feeling his anger at Ron's son bubbling up inside him.

"Yes," Scorpius whispered. "He said you and Mum didn't want me and that's why you're having the baby. You want a different child."

"Oh Scorpius." Not sure where to begin, Draco pulled his son closer and hugged his tighter. "Your Mum and I aren't having your sister to replace you. No-one could ever replace you. You're our amazing little star. Hugo is wrong, and it was bad of him to tell you such lies."

"So the baby won't take my room?" Scorpius questioned with a frown.

"Of course not," Draco replied. "She's got her own room, you know that Scorp. You helped us decorate the nursery, remember?"

"I remember," Scorpius said with a slight nod of his head.

"No-one is kicking you out of your room, and no-one will stop your Mum and I loving you," Draco insisted firmly as he continued to hug his son. "We love you and your sister just the same. So, do you want to meet her now?"

"I don't know," Scorpius whispered, clearly not quite convinced that his worries were unfounded.

"She's dying to meet you, Scorp," Draco urged. "You're her big brother, and you're going to be the most important person in her life. You're going to look out for her and protect her, and most importantly, you're going to love her. Don't you want to teach her how to ride a broom when she's older?"

"I can really do that?" Scorpius asked in awe.

"Yes, you can do that," Draco confirmed with a nod. "You're already a great little flyer, and by the time your sister is ready to fly, you'll be even better. So what do you say, Scorp. Are you ready to be the best big brother?"

"But you and Mum will still love me?" Scorpius checked warily.

"With all our hearts," Draco vowed. "Nothing will ever stop us loving you. Now go and get your present for your sister and we can go and see her and your Mum."

"I love you, Daddy," Scorpius whispered, hugging Draco one final time before hopping of his knee and flying towards the stairs.

"I love you too son," Draco whispered at his son's retreating figure.

While Scorpius was retrieving the stuffed toy he'd bought for his sister a few weeks ago, Draco took a few moments to calm himself down. While he was talking to Scorpius, he'd been able to focus on his son and reassuring him, but now he was alone all he could think about was the source of Scorpius's upset. He knew Hugo was only a child, but he was still a couple of years older than Scorpius, and in Draco's opinion it was a pretty rotten thing to upset a five year old who'd been so looking forward to getting a little sister. Maybe it was jealousy on Hugo's part because a sibling was unlikely for him given the fact his parents weren't together, but it was still a rotten thing for him to have said to Scorpius. One thing was for sure, Draco was going to make sure Hugo stayed well away from Scorpius in the future.

"I'm ready Daddy," Scorpius cried, running back into the front room clutching a large, purple stuffed unicorn in his hands.

"Let's go then," Draco said, taking hold of Scorpius's hand and apparating them to the hospital.

Hermione was in a private room, and the second they entered, Scorpius flew over to his mother's bed and clambered up onto it. Throwing himself at Hermione, he snuggled up in her arms quietly whispering his love for her.

"I love you too, Scorp," Hermione said, embracing her son. Looking over his head she gave Draco a questioning look.

"I'll explain later," He whispered.

"So are you ready to meet your little sister?" Hermione asked her son, wondering why he was being so clingy.

"Not yet," Scorpius replied, continuing to hug Hermione. "I love you, Mummy."

Leaving Scorpius nestled in Hermione's arms, Draco made his way to the crib at the bottom of her bed. Lying in the crib was their daughter, and Draco plucked her from the crib and nestled her into his arms. Walking back up to the head of the bed, Draco settled himself down on the seat beside Hermione's bed, and waited for his son to come round.

Scorpius's natural curiosity soon got the better of him, and leaving the safety of Hermione's arms, he crawled over to beside Draco and looked down at the baby in his father's arms.

"She looks red and squidgy," Scorpius giggled.

"You looked like that once," Hermione said. "Do you want to hold her?"

"Really?" Scorpius looked at Draco, his hesitance evident in his grey eyes.

"It's okay Scorp," Draco reassured him. "Just remember what I told you. We love you both the same. Your sister isn't going to take your place. We've got more than enough room on our hearts for both of you."

"I'll hold her," Scorpius declared with a determined nod.

Hermione was clearly curious about the conversation her husband and son had just had, but she refrained from asking questions as she settled Scorpius safely on the bed beside her. Draco then passed their daughter over to her, and she settled the baby in Scorpius's arms. Scorpius gazed down at his baby sister in awe, and when he smiled at her, Draco knew everything was going to be alright.

They would have to make sure that Scorpius never doubted his place in the family again, but Draco was confident they could do that. He was confident that the four of them would be the perfect family, and that Scorpius would always know he was loved and wanted. His sister wasn't a replacement for him in any way, she was merely an extra addition to their already loving family. Just because they had a daughter, didn't mean they were going to love Scorpius any less. He would always be their son, and their first born. He would always be special. He was Scorpius Malfoy, and he was loved completely.


	9. Never Too Old

**Never Too Old.**

"Mum, are you okay?" Scorpius Malfoy asked his mother, Hermione, with a frown on his face.

It was the first evening of the Christmas holidays, and his mother had been unusually quiet over dinner. Normally she was eager to hear how his first term of school had gone, but tonight she'd barely asked any questions. Scorpius could maybe understand that she wasn't brimming with questions with him now he was up to his sixth year, but his sister, Lyra, had just started school that year and it was strange that Hermione hadn't many questions for her.

"I'm fine sweetheart," Hermione replied as her husband, Draco, gave her a slight nudge, alerting her to their son's question.

Scorpius hadn't missed the nudge his father had given his mother, and in his opinion it only confirmed that there was something going on with his mother. Hermione was normally very attentive, and it was just strange that she was so distracted that she needed a reminder to even answer a simple question.

"I'm not buying it," Scorpius declared, determined to get to the bottom of things. "Something is wrong and I want to know what."

"Nothing is wrong," Hermione insisted, giving her son a genuine smile. "Really, Scorp, I'm fine."

"Are you sick?" Scorpius asked, refusing to believe everything was okay.

"Why would I be sick?" Hermione questioned with a frown.

"I don't know," Scorpius replied with a shrug. "Maybe you're sick and are hiding it from us."

"You're not, are you, Mum?" Lyra asked in concern.

"No, honey, I'm not sick," Hermione answered. "I am perfectly healthy."

"Maybe, but there's something going on," Scorpius persisted. "Are you two having marital problems?"

"Marital problems?" Draco's grey eyes widened comically as he stared at his son. "What would make you think that? You know your mother and I are very happy together."

"Yeah, you are usually, but we haven't seen you in three months, things might have changed," Scorpius replied with a shrug. "It's not uncommon for parents to have problems when their children go off to school. Two of my friends have divorced parents, and in both cases their parents split up once all their kids were off at Hogwarts."

"We are not getting a divorce, or having marital problems," Draco said firmly. "Our marriage is as good as ever, thank you very much."

"Then what is going on?" Scorpius asked. "And don't say nothing, because I can tell it's not true. I'm sixteen, not six, you can tell me the truth."

"And me," Lyra added. "I'm not a kid anymore."

"Yeah you are, you're just eleven," Scorpius snorted.

"I'm twelve in January," Lyra shot back. "I'm very grown up. I deserve to know what's going on."

"It looks like it's time," Draco said to his wife.

"Looks like it," Hermione agreed with a nervous nod.

"See, I knew there was something," Scorpius crowed. "Is it good news?"

"Very," Draco replied with a large grin.

"Mum?" Scorpius questioned. While his father looked practically giddy, his mother still seemed slightly more subdued.

"It's good news," Hermione confirmed, her lips curling into a happy smile. "It's just a bit unexpected."

"Go on then," Scorpius urged. "Tell us what's going on."

Hermione glanced over at Draco, who smiled at her and took hold of her hand as he gave her a nod. Hermione squeezed her husband's hand, before she turned her focus onto her two children, who were watching them eagerly.

"Your father and I are expecting," Hermione announced. "We're going to have another baby."

"Aah," Lyra squealed excitedly as she hopped off her chair and flew over to Hermione, wrapping her arms around her. "I'm going to be a big sister?"

"Yes, you are," Hermione confirmed with a small chuckle as she hugged her daughter. "I take it you're happy about it?"

"Of course. It's the best news ever," Lyra gushed. "I can't wait."

"Well you'll have to wait until May," Draco laughed. "The baby's due in the middle of May."

"Wow," Lyra said with a grin. "A baby. Isn't it great, Scorp?"

"Yeah, Scorp, what do you think?" Hermione asked, turning to her son who was sitting at the table with his mouth open.

"A baby," Scorpius repeated in a small voice. "You're going to have a baby."

"Yes, I think we've already covered that," Draco replied, rolling his eyes at his son and his dramatics.

"But a baby. That involves having sex," Scorpius said, finally looking at his parents.

"We do know how babies are made, Scorp, this isn't our first," Draco drawled.

"But sex at your age," Scorpius said, still sounding stunned. "Really?"

"What do you mean, at our age, we're in our prime," Draco protested. "We're not even forty yet."

"When your kid is sixteen, you're too old for sex," Scorpius argued. "It's just gross."

"You won't say that when you're married with teenage kids and you've got a hot, sexy wife you love," Draco said, chuckling when Scorpius shuddered at the images he was planting in his son's head. "Believe me Scorp, we're not too old for it."

"Clearly," Scorpius muttered. "But you are old enough to know about protection. Did it never occur to either of you to practice safe sex?"

"Are we really getting a safe sex talk from our sixteen year old son?" Hermione questioned in amusement.

"Obviously someone needs to give you it," Scorpius protested. "Although, if I'd known you were still at it I would have given you the talk before I went back to school."

"It wouldn't have done any good, the baby was conceived on our holiday to Florence," Draco told his son.

"Dad!" Scorpius cried, making a gagging face. "Too much information."

"Putting aside the holiday conception and our age, how do you feel about the baby?" Hermione asked her son.

"I don't know," Scorpius admitted with a shrug. "It's weird. I'm sixteen, and I'm going to get another little sister or a brother. By the time he or she starts school, I'll be an adult and quite possibly might have kids of my own."

"We were hoping you would be happy for us," Draco said quietly. "Your mother and I are very happy to be having another baby."

"I didn't say I wasn't happy for you, it's just strange," Scorpius protested. "Although to be fair, it would be much easier if I didn't know how babies were made. I could have gone the rest of my life without ever having to know my parents were still having sex. But I guess a new sibling won't be too bad."

"So you're happy for us?" Hermione checked.

Scorpius nodded as he slowly got to his feet and walked over to his mother. "Congratulations," He offered as he gave her a hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Thanks, sweetheart," Hermione said, smiling at her son.

Luckily Scorpius was a good kid, and he didn't have any real problems with his parents' announcement. It was just the sex element that creeped him out as he didn't want to think about his parents that way. In actual fact having a little brother or sister might prove entertaining. He loved Lyra, so it could be fun to have a little one around the house. Although he did wish his parents had maybe had their third child a few years previously, before he knew too much about sex and what it took to make a baby. On the other hand, it could have been worse. They could have waited until after he was finished Hogwarts to have another child, now that would have been embarrassing. As it was, he would just have to learn to live with the fact his parents were still sexually active and they were having another child as he approached his seventeenth birthday.


	10. Rose Petals

**Rose Petals.**

Upon leaving Hogwarts, Scorpius Malfoy had chosen to join his father, Draco, in the family business. Not that it had been a straight forward choice as Scorpius had been slightly tempted to try a career in professional quidditch. However, he'd often visited his father at work as a child and deep down he'd always known he'd wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. So follow in Draco's footsteps Scorpius did, and he'd never regretted joining Draco in the family business.

He'd now been working with Draco for a few months, and Scorpius was thoroughly enjoying learning from his father. In fact the pair had lunch regularly, so when Scorpius finished his morning work one Friday morning he poked his head into Draco's office to see if his father was ready for lunch.

"Sorry son, I've got a few things to do at home," Draco said. "It's an anniversary, so I've got a surprise planned for your mother."

"But you and Mum got married in April," Scorpius said with a frown. "It's October now."

"It's not our wedding anniversary," Draco replied with a slight smirk.

"It's not the anniversary of your first date either, because that coincided with Mum's birthday," Scorpius said, recalling the story he'd heard in his youth about how his parents first date was to celebrate his mother's birthday in September.

"No, it's not the anniversary of our first date either," Draco said. "But it is still an anniversary."

Scorpius pursed his lips as he tried to think about what sort of anniversary his parents could be celebrating. All of a sudden a though occurred to him, and he grimaced as he suspected that his father was planning to celebrate the first time he and Hermione had slept together.

"Ah you've got it," Draco chuckled. "I take it you don't want me to elaborate any further."

"Please don't," Scorpius said. "You just go and arrange whatever surprise you have planned for Mum."

"Will do," Draco called cheerfully as he left the office.

Smiling at the fact his parents were still in love after over twenty years of marriage, Scorpius headed off to grab a quick lunch by himself. He was back in the office before Draco, but he heard his father return and when he poked his head into his father's office, Draco was clearly looking forward to the surprise he had planned for his wife that evening.

"I'm getting off now," Scorpius announced after a hard afternoon's work. "Have fun tonight."

"I will," Draco replied with a grin as his son left the office for the weekend.

Instead of going straight home, Scorpius headed to his mother's bookshop in Diagon Alley. Scorpius wasn't planning on letting his mother know that Draco had a surprise waiting for her, but he'd arranged to visit to pick up a book his girlfriend, Lily, had ordered a few weeks previously.

"Hi, Scorp," Hermione greeted with a wide smile and a warm hug as he entered the bookshop. "Have you had a good day?"

"Yeah," Scorpius replied. "Has Lily's book arrived?"

"It has," Hermione answered. "But it's at home. When you said you were picking it up, I thought you meant from home."

"It's okay, I can always pick it up tomorrow," Scorpius said with a shrug. "I doubt Lily needs it tonight."

"Nonsense, you can come back with me and pick it up," Hermione said. "Just give me half an hour to sort things out here."

"Really Mum there's no need," Scorpius insisted. "It can wait. I don't want to be any trouble."

"It's no trouble," Hermione said with a smile. "And I won't take no for an answer. Now stop arguing, or we're going to be here all afternoon."

"Yes Mum," Scorpius said meekly as he decided it was best not to argue. He'd long since learned that his mother was as stubborn as they came, and when she'd made up her mind about something it wasn't worth arguing with her. It was better to just concede defeat and go along with whatever Hermione wanted.

It actually took Hermione nearly forty minutes before she was ready to leave the shop. Scorpius did try and tell his mother that he didn't need the book that evening, but she was adamant that he should accompany her home to pick it up. Scorpius half suspected it was just an excuse to spend some time with him, so he didn't fight too much, and in the end he accompanied his mother back to his childhood home quite happily.

"I've missed this place," Scorpius admitted as he followed his mother through the floo and they ended up in the floo room. He'd only just moved out a few months earlier, but at times he missed living at home with his family.

"You can visit any time you want," Hermione reminded her son as she removed her jacket and shoes.

"I know," Scorpius replied, following his mother from the room and flipping on the hall light. "What the hell?" he gasped as he was faced with the hallway and stairs littered with red roses.

"It looks like your father's got something up his sleeve," Hermione chuckled, smiling at the sight. Draco could be quite the romantic, although she strongly suspected that what she would find at the end of the trail of rose petals was more saucy than romantic.

"He mentioned planning a surprise for you," Scorpius admitted. "But I had no idea he was so romantic."

"Your father has hidden depths," Hermione said.

"Let's see what they are, shall we?" Scorpius said with a mischievous grin. "I'd like to see what sort of surprise father has planned for you. It might give me some ideas with Lily."

"Scorpius, don't," Hermione cried as Scorpius began to climb the stairs.

"Come on Mum, a sneak peek won't hurt you," Scorpius called with a chuckle as he continued to climb the stairs.

"No, but it might scar you for life," Hermione muttered, following her determined son up the stairs.

Hermione managed to reach Scorpius before he entered the bedroom, but she couldn't dissuade him from following the rose petals into the master bedroom. Right behind him, Hermione chuckled as her son came to a horrified halt as he took in the bedroom. Candles were lit all around the room, and the rose petals circled the bed and littered the covers in the bed. However, lying in the middle of the bed with a rose clasped between his teeth was a stark naked Draco.

"Bloody hell, Scorp," Draco spluttered, spitting out the rose and grabbing a cushion to cover his modesty.

"My eyes," Scorpius cried, shutting his eyes tightly and shaking his head.

"I did try and warn you," Hermione said through her laughter.

"You knew?" Scorpius whirled to face his mother, making sure to keep his eyes well away from his father.

"I was fairly sure what awaited us," Hermione said.

"You mean he's done this before?" Scorpius questioned, blindly gesturing to his naked father and the romantic setting.

"I have," Draco answered. He'd now wrapped a sheet around his waist, so at least he wasn't on full display in front of his son.

"And you like this?" Scorpius asked his mother.

"What's not to like? Returning home to my sexy husband, all laid out and ready for action," Hermione smirked.

"At least I would have been, if our son hadn't walked in on the surprise," Draco said.

"I didn't know you would be lying there with your junk hanging out," Scorpius protested. "I just wanted to see what sort of surprise you had lined up for Mum."

"He was looking for some ideas for impressing Lily," Hermione confided in a stage whisper.

"I can impress my own girlfriend without needing inspiration," Scorpius argued.

"Even so, feel free to take a leaf out of my book," Draco said magnanimously. "Trust me, Lily would love a surprise like the one I've just given your mother."

"I'm not so sure," Scorpius said, even though he was sorely tempted to try his father's gesture. He could just picture the laugh he and Lily could have if she arrived home to find him waiting for her in bed, with a trail of rose petals leading to him. "I think I'm just going to grab that book and be off."

"It's in the library," Hermione said. "I'll come and find it for you."

"It's fine, I can manage," Scorpius said.

"No, I insist," Hermione said to her son, before turning to her husband. "And you, you better get back into place. I'll still want my romantic surprise when Scorpius has gone."

"I'll be waiting," Draco vowed with a jaunty wink.

Worried in case his father was going to get back into the position they'd found him in, Scorpius said his goodbyes and hurried out of his parents' bedroom. As promised Hermione returned to the ground floor with him and located Lily's book. With the book in hand, Scorpius left his parents to their fun and games while he returned home to Lily, all the time wondering when he would try the same thing with his girlfriend.


	11. Calm Before the Storm

**The Calm Before the Storm.**

From the second his wife, Hermione, informed him that she was pregnant, Draco Malfoy was the happiest wizard alive. The news was the icing on the cake for Draco, and he knew his life couldn't get any better. At one point in his life, Draco felt as though he had no future, but now he was married to a witch he was desperately in love with and together they were expecting a child that would complete their family.

During the war, when Draco had been dragged into things and forced to serve Voldemort against his will, a positive future looked bleak for Draco and his family. However, Voldemort was defeated and Draco and his parents had been given a second chance. The Malfoys had grabbed that chance with both hands, and they'd never looked back as they'd secured a bright and happy future for themselves which had nothing to do with Dark Arts and old blood purity prejudices.

Hermione was very much a part of Draco's second chance, and the second she'd agreed to go out with him, after first forming a friendship due to work commitments, he knew he was never going to let her go. Hermione was everything Draco wanted and needed in a partner. She was smart and beautiful and she knew her own mind. She challenged Draco in ways no other witches had ever done, and they had an intense relationship full of passion. Of course, it did mean they argued, at times quite spectacularly, but the love and respect they had for each other always ensured that they made up and moved on with their lives together.

Over the years, Hermione had very much become a solid part of the Malfoy family, and both Lucius and Narcissa were thrilled when the couple announced Hermione's pregnancy. Hermione and Draco's friends were also thrilled for the couple, and they all agreed the pair would make great parents.

Throughout Hermione's pregnancy, Draco had been as calm as could be. Becoming a father was proof that his life had totally turned around since the war, and he was ready for the big event. It was Hermione who had bouts of anxiousness and worries over becoming a mother, while Draco was calm and looked forward to what lay ahead. Draco prepared for the day he would become a father as calmly as anything, and everything was ready for the newest Malfoy's arrival over a month before Hermione was due to give birth.

Draco's calm didn't shatter until one lazy Sunday afternoon when Hermione went into labour while the couple were at the manor having lunch with Lucius and Narcissa. Draco had been discussing a bit of business with his father in Lucius's study when Hermione and Narcissa had suddenly appeared to break the news that it was time.

"But the baby isn't due until Thursday," Draco protested when Hermione and Narcissa informed him that the baby was on its way.

"I don't think it got the message," Hermione retorted through clenched teeth.

"But it's early," Draco said.

"What do you want me to do, cross my legs and hang on for a few more days just because the baby's not due until later in the week?" Hermione growled at her husband.

"Babies don't work that way, Draco," Narcissa said gently to her son. "The baby is coming, and we need to move now."

"Right of course," Draco said, jumping to his feet. "Hermione's bag is at home, I'll go and get it."

Rushing out of the room, Draco quickly flooed home to grab the bag that had been packed and just waiting for Hermione to go into labour. Returning to the manor at top speed, he was pleased to find that his parents and Hermione had relocated to the floo room and waiting for him.

"Can we go?" Hermione asked when Draco just stood in front of her holding her bag.

"Yes, of course," Draco replied with a nod of his head. Taking hold of Hermione's hand, he helped her into the fire so they could floo to the hospital together, totally missing the amused look his parents shared before following after their son and daughter-in-law.

At the hospital the Malfoys were escorted into a private room, which they'd already paid for. While Draco was with Hermione, helping her get settled on and watching as the medi-witches checked her over, Lucius and Narcissa contacted the pair's closest friends so that when Draco poked his head outside to keep his parents up to date he found his two best friends, Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott, sitting with Hermione's two best friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter.

"How's it going?" Harry asked. He was the only one of the four with a child, so he knew how nervous Draco must be as he waited for Hermione to give birth.

"It's harder than it looks," Draco confessed. "I'm exhausted with all this running about."

"It's even harder for Hermione," Narcissa said pointedly. "She's the one giving birth."

"I know, and I'm right there for her," Draco replied.

"You best get back to it then," Lucius said to his son.

Draco nodded and turning back to enter Hermione's room, he opened the door just as Hermione let out a loud scream, cursing Draco for ever getting her pregnant. With a wince, Draco bravely went back into the room where his wife was very vividly threatening to hex his manhood off.

"Ouch," Blaise muttered, shuffling uncomfortably in his seat following Hermione's loud shouts. Beside him, Theo and Ron were also shuffling around as though it was their privates Hermione had threatened to remove.

"Do all women react like that when they're giving birth?" Theo asked warily.

"Narcissa actually hexed my balls when she was giving birth to Draco," Lucius confided. "They turned a shocking shade of blue."

"It was an accident," Narcissa replied, not sounding too convincing. "My magic was all over the place when I gave birth."

"Ginny's magic was also haywire when she was giving birth to James," Harry said. "Although, it wasn't focused on me. She blew all the lights on the floor of the hospital."

"Better a few blown lights than blue balls," Blaise chuckled. "I think if I ever become a father, I'm steering clear of the delivery room."

Talk outside of Hermione's room carried on for the next few hours, as the occasional scream from Hermione penetrated the walls. As they waited the group took it in turns to go and get refreshments and to stretch their legs. Although, not one of them thought of leaving until Hermione had given birth, not even when night fell and midnight came and went.

It was almost two o'clock in the morning before the door to Hermione's room opened and a stunned looking Draco stumbled out into the corridor. Despite his months of calmness and claiming he was full prepared for what lay ahead of him, it was clear that the experience had left Draco completely and utterly stunned.

"I'm a father," he announced in a shell-shocked voice.

"Congratulations, son," Lucius beamed.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"A baby," Draco replied dumbly.

"We know that," Blaise said with a snort. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Draco's face briefly crumpled in confusion, before his eyes widened in shock. "Bloody hell, I forgot to check."

As Draco whirled round and flew back into Hermione's room to check if he had a son or a daughter, his parents and friends merely laughed at him.

"So much for Mr Calm and Collected," Theo chuckled.

"It's a boy," Draco yelled, running back into the corridor. "It's a boy."

"That's great news, Draco," Narcissa said as Draco walked over to where they were waiting and slumped down on the seat next to his mother.

"I've got a son," he whispered to himself. "A son. I'm a father."

"And this is just occurring to you?" Ron asked.

"I knew I was going to be a father, but now I am," Draco said. "Now I have this whole little person depending on me and I'm bloody terrified. What if I mess up? What if I accidentally drop him on his head?"

"You won't drop him on his head," Narcissa reassured her son and Theo and Ron both chuckled quietly to themselves.

"And as for messing up, you just have to do your best," Lucius added, moving so he was sitting on the other side of his son. "I wasn't the best father to you, Draco, and yet I've still managed to land myself a terrific son. That little boy in there is so lucky because I know you'll not make the mistakes I did with you. You're going to make sure he's never going to want for anything, and you're going to love him more than anything. Just love him, and he'll turn out just fine."

"You weren't the worst father," Draco said, looking up at his father and thanking the fact that they were now so close.

"Maybe not the worst, but I wasn't the best either," Lucius replied with a shrug. "Hopefully, I'm making up for that now, but I know it won't be the same for you. You're going to be a great father from the start. Now go back to your son and wife and give them all our love."

Draco nodded, and slowly getting to his feet, he gave his father the briefest of hugs before he headed back into see his wife and son. When he entered Hermione's room, he found the staff had exited via the second door and Hermione was sitting propped up in bed with their son nestled in her arms.

"There you are," she said with a smile when she spotted her husband. "I thought you'd ran off and left us."

"Never," Draco replied, making his way over to Hermione's bed and perching beside her. "I'm never going to leave you, Hermione. Neither of you. The pair of you are my whole world, and I couldn't be happier."

"Do you want to hold your son, then?" Hermione asked with a smile.

Draco took a deep breath as he nodded his head. Ever so gently, Hermione placed their new-born son in his arms and Draco gasped at the flood of love that washed over him the second he held his son. All at once his worries and fears flew to the back of his mind as the little boy in his arms looked up at him expectantly.

"Hello, baby," Draco whispered. "I'm your Daddy, and I'm going to be the best Daddy I can be."

Still cradling his son in his arms, Draco got up and walked over to the window. As he stood staring out at the night sky, his son in his arms and his wife lying in bed behind him, Draco felt completely and utterly content. His life couldn't possibly get better than this, and he knew he was going to spend the rest of his life being the best father and husband he could possibly be. After all, his wife and son deserved the best, and that was what he was going to make sure they got.


	12. The Malfoy Twins

**The Malfoy Twins.**

It was a lovely bright day as wizarding families from around the country gathered at Platform Nine and Three Quarters to send their children off to Hogwarts for another year. As it always was, the platform was jam packed, both with students and parents. For a lot of the older students the magic of seeing The Hogwarts Express waiting to take them up to Hogwarts had worn off, but for those just starting school it was still a magical moment in their young lives.

As well as children experiencing going off to Hogwarts for the first time, there were also plenty of parents sending their children away for the first time. Among those seeing their son off to Hogwarts for the first time was Ron Weasley and his wife, Lavender Brown. The couple and their son, Hugo, had arrived at the train station with Harry Potter, his wife, Ginny, and their two children, James and Lily. James was going into his second year, while Lily was starting Hogwarts alongside her cousin.

"This is so exciting," Hugo gushed as he and Lily stopped in their tracks and gazed at the scarlet train standing beside the platform.

"It is," Ron agreed with a grin. "And it's even better once you get to school. The castle is brilliant, isn't it Harry?"

"It is," Harry agreed absentmindedly as his gaze flicked around the crowds.

"Who are you looking for?" Ron asked his best friend with a frown. "Oh, never mind," he muttered, suddenly spotting a very familiar brunette head. "I didn't know she was going to be here."

"Of course you didn't," Ginny snapped. "You haven't cared to listen to anything about her for years."

"Do you blame me?" Ron snorted.

"Actually, I do," Ginny replied sharply. "You're just being a part, Ron. Hermione was your best friend, and you threw her and her friendship away because you didn't approve of who she chose to date."

"She did far more than date him though," Ron grumbled. "She bloody well married him. And I'm sorry Gin, but the day she married Draco sodding Malfoy, was the day our friendship ended."

Ginny shook her head, but she didn't waste any more energy arguing with her brother. Everything that she had to say had been said dozens of times before and many years ago. It was now too late to change anything. Nothing could be done to fix the relationship between Ron and his former best friend, Hermione Granger. He'd walked away from her the second she started dating Draco Malfoy, and in the years that had passed, he'd refused to even listen to anything had to say about her life.

Fortunately not everyone was as bigoted as Ron, and he'd been the only person to disown Hermione over her relationship with the former Slytherin. Harry was still her best friend, and along with Ginny and the rest of the Weasleys, he'd been there for every major event of Hermione's life. Therefore he'd been expecting to see Hermione at the platform as he knew her son would be starting Hogwarts that day.

"So why is she here?" Ron asked, unable to stop himself from glancing looks at Hermione. He may have cut her out of his life, but this was the first time he'd seen her in years and his curiosity was aroused.

"She's an avid train-spotter," Harry replied sarcastically, causing Ginny to snort in laughter beside him. "Seriously Ron, why do you think she's here?"

"She's got a kid," Ron muttered, trying to see who was with Hermione. However, all he could see through the crowds was the back of a platinum blond head that belonged to her husband.

"Yes, starting this year," Ginny replied.

"Trust them to have a kid in the same year as Hugo," Ron grumbled.

"Yes, I'm sure they did it deliberately," Harry retorted. "Damn Malfoy and his psychic powers. He must have known you were going to get Lavender pregnant, so he jumped in a few months earlier and knocked Hermione up."

"Stop it Harry," Ginny giggled. She was actually enjoying Harry winding Ron up, but she knew her brother had a short fuse and things could easily escalate and get out of hand.

Ron glared at Harry, before his attention once again returned to the Malfoys. As fate would have it, several people had moved giving him a better view of the family. Standing beside Draco was a small platinum blond boy, who looked to be the spitting image of his father, and Hermione was crouched down talking to a pretty little girl with long white blonde hair. However, even more bizarre was the presence of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.

"Bloody hell, look at that, Malfoy's brought his parents along," Ron chuckled. "How lame, brining grandparents to the platform."

"I don't think Lucius and Narcissa are here as grandparents," Harry replied with a smirk. "They're here as parents."

"What? Can Malfoy not even manage to send his own kids off to Hogwarts without Mummy and Daddy to hold his hand?" Ron sneered.

"Kid," Harry corrected. "Draco and Hermione only have one son. Scorpius."

"Can you not count, Harry?" Ron asked. "Look at them over there. There's two kids. The little girl is hugging Malfoy now."

"Indeed she is," Harry agreed with a nod. "But she's not his daughter."

"Come off it Harry, she's clearly a Malfoy," Ron snorted.

"She is," Harry agreed again. "She's his sister."

"Sister?" Ron screamed, causing a few people nearby to look at him strangely. "How is she his sister, she's just a kid."

"It did come as a bit of a shock," Harry recalled with a fond chuckle. "Hermione and Draco were only just getting used to the fact they were having a baby when Narcissa announced she was pregnant. It came as quite a shock all round."

"Bloody hell, how on earth did they manage to have a kid at their age?" Ron spat. "It's bloody indecent. I'm surprised Lucius can even still get it up."

"I wouldn't say that where he is," Ginny advised with a laugh.

"I just can't believe those kids aren't twins," Ron muttered, his attention still focused on where the Malfoys were saying their final goodbyes.

"Will you stop staring and pay attention to your own family," Lavender hissed, stalking up to her husband. Her focus had been on Hugo, and she had no idea about what had been going on with her husband, Harry and Ginny. "Your son is about to leave us for months, so the least you could do was pay attention."

"Sorry," Ron muttered apologetically as he turned his attention to Hugo.

"I don't know what's so interesting about the Malfoys anyway," Lavender huffed. "It's not like you've never seen twins before."

"But they're not twins," Ron hissed to his wife. "The little girl is Lucius and Narcissa's. She's the boy's aunt."

"What?" Lavender squealed, his eyes widening with surprise. "How juicy."

"Don't go spreading gossip, Lavender," Ginny warned. "You don't want to get on the wrong side of the Malfoys."

"Come on Ginny, they can't keep this a secret. Not now the kids going to school," Ron snorted. "Everyone is soon going to find out that the Malfoys have a young kid the same age as their grandson. Malfoy must be so embarrassed. It's hilarious."

Shaking their heads at Ron, Harry and Ginny focused their attention on their own children. However, as the train finally pulled out of the platform they were aware of Ron and Lavender gossiping to a nearby couple. No doubt that by the time the Hogwarts Express reached Scotland most of Wizarding Britain would be aware that Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had a daughter the same age as their grandson.

* * *

The sorting ceremony was Minerva McGonagall's favourite part of the start of term feast. She looked forward to seeing the new starters, and in a lot of cases these days, remembering their own parents when they were in school. It was always so much fun to see if the children ended up in the same houses as their parents.

When the first years were led into the Great Hall, by Professor Neville Longbottom, who had taken over the sorting duties when McGonagall had become headmistress, her eyes scanned the group for any familiar faces. She easily spotted the redhead of a Weasley, Ron's son if she wasn't mistaken. She also spotted a girl with reddish hair that she thought was Harry and Ginny's daughter. And funnily enough she saw two platinum haired children who looked like Malfoys, although she could have sworn that Hermione only had one child. Maybe her information had been wrong and her former student had given birth to twins.

Throughout the sorting, McGonagall's eyes kept getting drawn back to the two Malfoys. Finally Neville called out the name Scorpius Malfoy and the young boy sauntered forward with all the confidence of his father. McGonagall did wonder if Scorpius would be sorted as quickly as Draco was all those years ago, but the hat was on his head for a fair few minutes before it's loud declaration of 'Slytherin'.

"Draco will be thrilled," Severus Snape, who as deputy head was sitting at McGonagall's side, whispered to her.

"Surely it was never in doubt, Malfoys are always Slytherins," McGonagall remarked.

"Traditionally, but traditions within the family have changed," Snape replied with a shrug. "For the first time in years, there's a Gryffindor in the family and I think Hermione was hoping Scorpius would take after her."

"Maybe her daughter will," McGonagall replied as Neville called out the next name on his list – Tabitha Malfoy.

"Daughter?" Snape frowned. "Hermione doesn't have a daughter."

"Then who is that pretty little thing being sorted right now?" McGonagall countered.

"Tabi," Snape chuckled affectionately. "She's not Hermione's."

"Don't tell me Draco had an affair," McGonagall gasped, outraged at the thought. "I was under the impression he loved Hermione."

"He does, and he would never cheat on her," Snape replied. "Tabi isn't Draco's daughter, she's his sister."

"Sister?" McGonagall's mouth dropped open and her cry of surprise might have been audible to the students if the sorting hat hadn't chosen that moment to sort Tabitha into Slytherin.

Still not sure about what she'd heard, McGonagall followed Tabitha with her eyes as the young witch made her way to the Slytherin table. Scorpius scowled slightly as she made her way towards the table, but when she sat down next to him, he rolled his eyes before giving her a conspiratorial grin. McGonagall watched as Tabitha smiled back, and even though the pair weren't twins, she suspected they could cause just as much havoc as a set of mischievous twins.

"How?" she finally asked Snape, finding her voice.

"Don't say I have to explain the facts of life, Minerva," Snape drawled.

"I know how it's done," McGonagall tutted. "I'm just surprised at the timing. She must be the same age as Scorpius."

"She's three months younger," Snape replied. "And you're not the only one surprised. Lucius was flabbergasted when Narcissa informed him she was expecting. According to Narcissa, he was unable to speak for nearly twelve hours."

"I'm not surprised, that is quite a shock to get," McGonagall remarked. "And what about poor Draco? How does he feel having a sister the same age as his son?"

"I'm sure he's used to it by now, and he dotes on Tabi," Snape answered. "But he was rather shocked at the time. In fact when Lucius and Narcissa told him, he fell in the pool he was standing beside."

"And how do Scorpius and Tabitha feel about it all?" McGonagall asked. "This must be very strange for them."

"I suppose to them, it's normal," Snape replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Although it might seem stranger now. Not many people go to school with their aunt or their nephew."

"It's going to be hard not to think of them as twins," McGonagall said with a slight shake of her head.

Still thinking about the Malfoys, McGonagall forced her attention back to the rest of the sorting. By the time the sorting was complete, with Lily and Hugo taking after their parents and being sorted into Gryffindor, McGonagall still wasn't over the shock of discovering that the Malfoy twins weren't twins, in fact they weren't even siblings. After a brief speech, she re-took her seat, her mind still with the Malfoys.

"Are you okay?" Neville asked from the other side of McGonagall, having noticed the headmistress seemed distracted.

"I've just had a bit of a shock," McGonagall admitted. "Did you know the Malfoy kids weren't twins?"

"Oh yes," Neville replied with a chuckle. "I wouldn't call them twins if I were you. Scorpius especially doesn't like it. His very adamant that Tabi is his aunt, not his sister."

"I have to admit, I never saw that one coming," McGonagall admitted. "Who could believe Lucius and Narcissa would have a second child at their age?"

"I think it came as a shock all round," Neville said with a chuckle. "Poor Hermione was driven to distraction being pregnant the same time as Narcissa. She insisted on sharing everything with Hermione, even the stuff she didn't need to know. But I do think Narcissa was just excited."

"So she and Lucius are enjoying parenthood for the second time?" McGonagall asked.

"I think so," Neville replied. "I don't see either of them a lot, but when I do, they seem happy. I know they were both thrilled to have a little girl, and from what Draco and Hermione say, they're devoted to Tabi. It might be unconventional, but the Malfoys are one big happy family."

"I suppose at the end of the day that's all that matters," McGonagall replied, her attention drifting back over to the Slytherin table where she spotted the two Malfoys laughing with the other first years. Twins or not, something told her that having two Malfoys in Hogwarts at the same time was going to keep her and the rest of the staff on their toes.


	13. A Good Life

**A Good Life.**

When Draco Malfoy walked onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters with his wife and son, he felt as though everyone was staring at them. As a Malfoy he'd lived his whole life with people watching him, but since the war he'd felt their scrutiny more than ever. He often felt as though the entire wizarding world were watching him, desperate to see him fail and do something that would prove to people he truly was a dark wizard. However, Draco was determined not to fail, and he spent his life ignoring people's opinions of him, while focusing on his family.

While Draco had become used to the scrutiny that surrounded him, he hated that his wife and son were subjected to the same thing. He knew his wife, Hermione Granger, had sacrificed a lot to be with him, and she was tough enough to rise above the gossips. But their eleven year old son, Scorpius, was another matter. Draco and Hermione had done their best to protect Scorpius from the most vicious gossips over the years, but now he was off to Hogwarts and Draco knew his son would hear plenty of negativity about his family. Draco just hoped Scorpius was strong enough to cope with being a Malfoy.

"Wow, Dad, it's awesome," Scorpius gasped, gazing at the Hogwarts Express in awe.

"It is rather impressive," Draco agreed with a small smile. He could remember how thrilled he'd been by the Hogwarts Express the first time he'd seen it, but of course his reaction had been far more composed than his son's due to his different upbringing.

"I can't wait to get on it," Scorpius announced with a grin.

"There's time for that in a moment," Hermione said. "First of all, I want a proper goodbye."

"Don't embarrass me, Mum," Scorpius hissed, glancing around to make sure no-one was watching them as his mother ran her hand down his cheek.

"It's not embarrassing to hug your mother goodbye," Hermione said, pulling her son into her arms and squeezing him tight.

"Mum," Scorpius grumbled, wriggling out of her embrace and turning to his father. "Can't you control her?"

"No, son, I can't," Draco replied with a low chuckle. "Although let me give you a word of advice, any woman you can control isn't worth knowing. The best women are those who know their own minds and can't be controlled."

When Hermione smiled at Draco, and took hold of his hand, Scorpius rolled his eyes and turned his attention away from his parents. He was used to them showing each other their affection, but it didn't stop it being embarrassing when they did it in public. Hoping his parents weren't going to start kissing or anything, Scorpius looked around the station and his attention fell to two families nearby. Even though Scorpius had never met either of the families, he knew they were the Potters and the Weasleys. Not only had he seen pictures of his mother's old friends in the papers, he'd seen his mother's old photographs as well.

Scowling at the sight of the two families, Scorpius turned his back on them. He may not have known the Potters and Weasleys, but he knew all about them. He knew that his mother had been best friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley in school, and he knew that without her they never would have survived school, let alone defeated Voldemort the way they had. However, none of that counted for anything when his mother had gotten together with his father, and the pair of them had cut her off as though she was a leper.

"What's with the frown?" Hermione asked, suddenly spotting her son's good mood had vanished.

"Over there," Scorpius answered, jerking his head in the direction of the two families.

"Don't let mine and your mother's past affect how you treat people, Scorpius," Draco said softly, leaning down so he was face to face with his son. "Don't be like I was, son. Don't discriminate against someone just because of their family."

"Even though it's a family that cut Mum off?" Scorpius questioned.

"Even then," Hermione answered with a nod. "Whatever has happened between myself and my old friends, it's not your concern Scorpius. Be the bigger wizard and don't let hatred define your school days. Make friends with who you want, and just ignore people who are too ignorant to get to know you before they judge you."

"Okay," Scorpius promised with a resolute nod of his head.

"And remember to write and let us know what house you're in," Draco added as his son picked up his trunk as he prepared to board the Hogwarts Express for the first time.

"I will," Scorpius replied. "I love you guys," He added in a quiet voice.

"We love you too, Scorp," Hermione said, giving her son a peck on the cheek.

"Have fun, and remember that we're proud of you," Draco said, watching with pride as his son boarded the train for the first time.

"I'm going to miss him," Hermione said with a sigh, moving closer to her husband.

"Me too," Draco said, wrapping his arm around his wife and kissing the top of her head. "I just hope he'll be okay."

"He will be," Hermione replied, smiling up at her husband. "There's nothing no-one can say that he doesn't already know," she reassured Draco, knowing exactly what he was worried about. "Scorpius knows everything about our past, and more importantly he knows the truth, not some fanciful version someone might want to tell him."

"Let's hope you're right," Draco said softly, mentally praying that no-one said anything to Scorpius that would turn his son against him. Even though Hermione was right, and there wasn't any part of his past that his son didn't already know about, he couldn't help but be worried that someone would put a spin on something he'd done and twist his son against him.

"Have faith, Draco," Hermione urged, squeezing her husband's hand. "Scorpius is a bright boy, and he loves his family. Nothing anyone can say to him will stop him from loving you."

Draco nodded his head, but he didn't answer as he spotted his son's platinum blond head poking out of one of the windows on the train. Waving to Scorpius, he felt a jolt of sadness as the train began to move and his only son began his long journey up to Hogwarts.

Draco and Hermione remained on the platform until the train had disappeared from view, and when they turned to leave they found the Potters and Weasleys standing nearby glaring at them. Instinctively, Draco tightened his hold on Hermione, and even though his wife didn't look to respond to the hostile looks of her former friends, he felt her stiffen in his arms.

"Let's go home, Draco," Hermione said, deliberately turning her head away from her friends and looking up at her husband.

Smiling at his wife, Draco pulled out his wand and the pair disappeared from the platform with a loud crack. When they landed they were back at their house in Wiltshire, a few miles away from Draco's childhood home, Malfoy Manor. Draco's parents still lived at the manor, and while the house would pass to Draco when his father either chose to retire or passed away, he knew he would never live there again. Since the war his mother had actually knocked down and rebuilt part of the manor and redecorated the rest of the house, but there was still too many bad memories of the place both for Draco and Hermione.

"Are you okay?" Draco checked as his wife shrugged off her jacket and slipped off her shoes.

"Do you mean am I missing Scorpius, or are you referring to Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked, leading the way into the large living room.

"I don't need to ask about missing Scorpius, because I'm fairly sure you feel the same way I do," Draco replied. "I was referring to your former friends. It must have been tough, seeing them and having them ignore you the way they did."

"I'm used to it," Hermione replied with a shrug.

Since Harry and Ron had stopped talking to her when she'd first started dating Draco a year after the war, she'd ran into them numerous times and every time they'd acted as though she was a stranger. For a long time, it had felt as though her friends had been tearing her heart out every time they blanked her, but by now, Hermione was used to their actions and all she felt was a dull pain. She'd accepted that she'd lost her friends, but she'd come to see it as their loss. All she'd done was give Draco a second chance, and ended up falling in love, but yet her friends just couldn't see that. But that was their problem, she was happy and she had a wonderful life with a husband she loved more than anything and a son she adored.

"I wish things were different for you and Scorp," Draco said with a sigh. "I wish my past didn't taint your lives."

"You don't taint our lives, Draco, you enhance them," Hermione insisted, taking hold of her husband's hand as she sat down on the sofa next to him. "Scorpius and I love you more than anything, and we don't care about your past. All we care about is who you are now."

"And just who is that?" Draco asked quietly.

"A good husband and a loving father," Hermione answered. "You're a good man, Draco, you just didn't have the easiest of starts. Neither Scorpius nor I care about your past, and we're the only people whose opinions should matter to you. Who cares what everyone else thinks, as long as your family loves and supports you."

"You're right," Draco said with a grin. "You and Scorpius are all I need. As long as I have the pair of you, I'm good."

"We're not going anywhere," Hermione promised, wrapping her arms around her husband and smiling at him. "You know with Scorpius off at school, we've got the whole place to ourselves."

"Just what are you suggesting Mrs Malfoy?" Draco asked with a smirk.

"I'm suggesting we make the most of the empty house and relive the weekend we first moved in," Hermione replied.

Draco laughed lightly as he remembered the weekend he and Hermione had moved into the house. For the entire weekend the pair had locked themselves away and they'd had sex in every room of the house. By the end of the weekend, they'd been knackered and they hadn't managed much sorting, but it had been well worth it.

"I'm up for that," Draco said as he gently connected his lips with Hermione's.

In his wife's embrace, Draco was thankful for everything he had in his life. The detractors would always be there, and there would always be some interest in his life, but as long as he had his wife and son he didn't care. People could say what they wanted about him, but Draco knew he wasn't a bad person. He'd done bad things, and suffered terribly in the war, but he'd moved on. He'd turned his life around, and now he had a wonderful wife, an amazing son and everything to live for. As it turned out, the life of Draco Malfoy turned out to be a good one.


	14. The Right Result

**The Right Result.**

The rays of the early evening sun shone through the large bedroom window as Hermione Malfoy sat perched on the side of the large king sized bed she shared with her husband, Draco. Her husband was sitting beside her, as for the fourth time in their lives they prepared to cast the spell that would see if Hermione was pregnant. Every time Hermione had cast the spell previously, Draco had been at her side, and this time was no different. The only major difference between now, and in the past, was that the couple had no idea what they wanted the result to be. Previous times, they'd known exactly what result they wanted, but not now.

"Are you ready?" Draco asked gently.

"Just give me a minute," Hermione answered. Glancing down at her wand, ready to cast the spell, her mind wandered back to the previous three occurrences where she'd cast the spell.

 **(** **:** **)(** **:** **)(** **1** **)(** **:** **)(** **:** **)**

 _Hermione sat on the Head Girl's bed, tears rolling down her face, as she waited for her boyfriend to return. Draco had gone to find a book that contained the spell to detect pregnancy. Hermione had looked in the library, but couldn't find anything, and she hadn't wanted to ask Madam Pince. However, Draco was confident he would be able to sneak into the restricted section and find what they needed._

 _As she waited for Draco, Hermione contemplated what would happen if she was pregnant. She was confident her relationship with Draco was the real thing, but she didn't think they were ready to be parents. They were only just embarking on adulthood themselves, and the last thing they needed was to be thrust into parenthood at the same time. Not that a baby wouldn't be loved if they had one, the timing just wasn't exactly great._

 _Then of course there was the fact they'd told no-one about their relationship, despite the fact they'd been together since late on in fifth year. Draco was from an old pureblood family who believed muggleborns, like Hermione, were beneath them. Once upon a time Draco had also thought like that, but his time at school had changed him, and he now held no such prejudices. However, they'd been putting off telling his family as he wasn't sure if they would share his enlightened views. Draco had decided they would tell his parents once they left school, that way if they did react badly, Draco was an adult and there was nothing they could do to stop them being together._

 _Hermione's friends were also a problem as they didn't like Slytherins, and had particular issue with Draco and his family. Years ago, Draco's father had supported the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort. Voldemort was mysteriously vanquished when he tried to kill Hermione's best friend, Harry Potter, as a baby. Following Voldemort's death, the Malfoys had turned their back on the dark arts, but not everyone believed they'd changed. Hermione's second best friend, Ron Weasley, came from a family that held a particular dislike towards the Malfoys, and therefore Ron had grown up being taught that Malfoys were evil. Harry had been raised by his godfather, Sirius Black, who held similar views, so both of Hermione's best friends were against her boyfriend. Of course she was going to tell them all about their relationship, but like Draco she thought it was best they get school out of the way first. Of course, that would all change if she was indeed pregnant._

" _I've got it," Draco announced as he suddenly burst into the room. When he spotted Hermione was crying, he dropped the book on the bedside table and climbed onto the bed with his girlfriend. "Don't worry, baby. Whatever happens, we'll face it together."_

" _I know," Hermione sniffed as she wrapped her arms around Draco and took comfort in his familiar smell. "But I don't know if I can do this, Draco. I'm too young to be a Mum."_

" _I want this to be a false alarm just as much as you do," Draco said to his girlfriend. "But if it isn't and you're pregnant, we'll cope. And I promise you, if we do became parents, we'll be good parents. Unplanned or not, any child of ours will be loved."_

" _Let's just hope it's a future child, and not a child born within the next few months," Hermione whispered. It wasn't that she didn't want children, she just didn't want them at such a young age._

 _Wiping at her tears, Hermione sat up and reached for the book on her bedside table. Finding the spell, she read it over a few times so she knew what she was doing. Draco offered to cast the spell for her when her hands shook as she picked up the wand, but Hermione needed to do this for herself._

" _Ready?" She asked and Draco nodded his head. "If I'm pregnant, I'll get a pale yellow glow around my stomach. If I'm not, nothing will happen."_

 _Draco held onto Hermione's free hand, as she took a deep breath before flicking her wand and saying the incantation of the spell. Once the spell had been cast, Hermione and Draco's focus fell to her stomach. For what seemed like an eternity, they watched, and nothing happened._

" _Does this mean it was a false alarm?" Draco asked hopefully when after ten minutes, nothing had changed with his girlfriend._

" _I think so," Hermione said cautiously. Before she let herself feel any sort of relief, she wanted to be sure of the result. "I'm going to try again, just to be sure."_

 _With more confidence, Hermione tried the spell again and still nothing happened. Just to be certain, Draco even cast the spell, and again no yellow glow appeared around Hermione's stomach. After three results had come back negative, both Hermione and Draco were confident there was no baby on the way._

" _Thank Merlin," Draco exclaimed, pulling Hermione into a deep kiss._

" _It is such a relief," Hermione said. "Now is not the right time for us to have a baby."_

" _No, it's not," Draco agreed. "But one day it will be, and next time we take this test, we'll want a different result."_

" _And aren't you sure of yourself," Hermione teased. Now she knew she wasn't pregnant it was as though a massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Who says I want a baby with you?"_

" _Who wouldn't want a baby with my genes?" Draco snorted. "I'm very good looking."_

" _You're very big-headed," Hermione replied with a laugh. "But seriously, do you think we'll have children together one day?"_

" _I don't think, I know," Draco answered, taking hold of Hermione's hand. "I love you Hermione, and I know we're going to spend the rest of our lives together."_

" _Even if we have to fight to stay together?" Hermione questioned._

" _Especially then," Draco said with a nod as he recaptured Hermione's lips with his. Part of the reason a baby would have been a bad idea was the fact he knew they faced an uphill struggle to remain together. No-one in their lives would approve, and in his opinion they would need all of their strength for that battle, adding a baby to the mix would have only complicated matters._

 **(** **:** **)(** **:** **)(** **2** **)(** **:** **)(** **:** **)**

" _Should we do it?" Hermione asked, grinning at her husband of just over a year._

 _Less than two months after celebrating their first wedding anniversary, Hermione was confident she was pregnant. Not that she was entirely sure of how it had happened as following the pregnancy scare back in school, they'd always been extra careful with their contraception._

 _Following school their lives had gone through a really rough patch as they battled to prove to everyone their relationship was the real thing, and getting pregnant at that time wouldn't have been advisable. However, they'd weathered the storm and for the last few years things had been pretty smooth sailing for the couple. However, they'd still decided against starting a family until they were married. In fact they still hadn't gotten around to talking about when would be a good time to try for a baby when Hermione informed Draco she was confident she was expecting._

" _Come on then, let's do it," Draco replied. "But don't be disappointed if it's negative," he cautioned. He was just as excited as his wife at the prospect that she could be pregnant, but he felt one of them had to be cautious in case it was a false alarm._

" _I'm fairly confident I'm pregnant," Hermione said._

" _That's what you said back in school," Draco pointed out._

" _It's different this time," Hermione replied. "Last time my period was just late, but this time I've completely missed one and my second one is late."_

" _Too much information, sweetheart," Draco said with a grimace._

" _Sorry," Hermione chuckled. "Let's just say, I think we're going to get the result we want."_

" _There's only one way to find out," Draco said. "Let's get on with it."_

 _After their experience in Hogwarts, neither Draco nor Hermione had forgotten the spell that detected pregnancy so there was no need for a book of any kind. Giving Draco a hopeful smile, Hermione flicked her wrist and cast the spell. Within seconds a yellow glow began to form around Hermione's stomach, slowly becoming brighter until her whole midriff was glowing._

" _We're pregnant," Hermione cried, launching herself at an equally excited Draco._

" _Yeah, we are," Draco agreed with a happy laugh as he and Hermione celebrated the creation of the first child in style._

 **(** **:** **)(** **:** **)(** **3** **)(** **:** **)(** **:** **)**

" _Avoiding it, won't work," Draco quietly called to his wife as he entered their daughter's room._

" _I don't know what you mean," Hermione retorted as she brushed her sleeping daughter's hair out of her eyes. "And keep your voice down, you'll wake Lyra."_

" _We both know, Lyra can sleep through anything," Draco muttered. "And since she's asleep, it's time." Taking hold of his wife's hand, he gently pulled her out of their daughter's room. "Come on, let's find out if we're going to be giving Lyra a little brother or sister."_

 _For the last eight months, Hermione and Draco had been trying to get pregnant, but so far they'd been having no luck. However, earlier that day Hermione had confided in her husband that her period was late. Apart from when there were in Hogwarts, when they eventually decided Hermione's late period was down to exam stress, she was regular as clockwork. The last time her period had been late, she'd been pregnant with Lyra._

" _And what If I'm wrong?" Hermione asked as they entered their bedroom. "I really want another baby, and I don't want to be disappointed if it doesn't happen."_

" _Finding out won't change the result," Draco argued. "If you're not pregnant, we're going to be disappointed whether we take the test now or wait. However, at least if we check now, we'll know one way or another."_

 _Conceding her husband was right, Hermione decided to take the test. "But what if I'm not pregnant?"_

" _Then we keep trying," Draco replied. "It's not like we haven't been having fun, is it?" he added with a saucy grin._

" _Hmm, it has been a good few months," Hermione agreed with a smug smile. Their sex life was always smoking hot, but with trying for a baby it had been even hotter._

" _Let's see if all that sex paid off," Draco said. "Come on Hermione, you know you want to do this."_

 _Smiling at her husband's enthusiasm, Hermione picked up her wand and cast the spell. Moments later, they both let out a simultaneous cry of joy when the familiar yellow glow appeared around Hermione's stomach. Yet again, they'd gotten the result they wanted and now they were expecting their second child to complete their family._

 **(** **:** **)(** **:** **)(** **:** **)(** **:** **)(** **:** **)**

"It's hard, isn't it?" Draco said quietly, bringing his wife's attention back to the present.

"It is," Hermione agreed. "All the other times, we knew what result we wanted. In school it was the wrong time, and the other two times we wanted it to be positive."

"And this time, I honestly have no idea which result I want," Draco said honestly. He knew Hermione was just as confused as he was regarding the fact she might be pregnant.

"Neither do I," Hermione admitted, leaning her head on Draco's shoulder. "It's stupid isn't it? Why shouldn't we want another child? We're happily married, and it's not as if we haven't done it before."

"Yeah, but the last time was nearly fifteen years ago," Draco pointed out. "Lyra's months away from finishing school, and heading into Healer training, and Scorpius only has another few years of school left. Our lives are very different to when the kids were younger, and it may sound selfish, but I love the extra time we get together now they're growing up."

"I feel the same," Hermione said with a nod.

As much as she loved her kids, and had treasured every moment when they were growing up, she wasn't sure if she wanted to start again from scratch. Their lives were pretty good the way they were and another baby would change things dramatically. Although, at the same time Hermione knew if she was pregnant, they would love their child just as much as the other two. Even though she was unsure of what she wanted, she knew if she was pregnant, she would end up being thrilled with the news.

"Let's get on with it," Draco prompted. "And either way, everything will work out just fine."

Knowing her husband was right, and whatever the result, they would deal with it together, Hermione cast the spell to detect pregnancy. As her gaze fell to her stomach, Hermione felt the relief building when nothing happened. When no glow appeared after almost two minutes, a smile crept over her face. Looking up at Draco, she found he was wearing the same relieved look.

"This is good, isn't it?" Hermione checked.

"Yes, I think it is," Draco replied with a nod. "Don't get me wrong, I love the kids more than anything, but I think if we were going to have another one, we should have done it years ago. I mean, if you'd been pregnant, we would have loved a new baby just as much as the others, but I can't help feeling this is the right result."

"I think so too," Hermione said with a smile. "I think our baby days are behind us."

"I'll certainly drink to that," Draco said as he got up and held his hand out to Hermione. "Let's celebrate the fact our kids are growing up, and we still have the freedom to do as we want."

Heading downstairs, the couple settled down for a romantic evening together. Two children was ideal for the couple, and they were both happy to leave it at that. Hermione's latest pregnancy scare had just confirmed what they already knew - that they had the perfect family, and they didn't need anything else to make their lives complete.


End file.
